Operators are being urged to use electric vans to break the “chicken-and-egg” problem of HGV fleets needing confidence in charging infrastructure and network firms needing utilisation to make commercial sense.
Maritime Transport is progressing plans for an open-access electric HGV charging hub at Felixstowe after securing an initial £50,000 contribution from Freeport East.
Fagan & Whalley has warned that a lack of grid capacity could become a major barrier to the rollout of electric HGVs, despite the haulier already running two battery-electric trucks.
Grant funding can improve the economics of depot electrification, but it cannot compensate for poor design. Mark Duxbury, UK director at iwell, argues operators must start with duty cycles, dwell times and growth plans — not the funding framework.