Electric Freightway trial battles bureaucratic obstacles to installing charging stations

The consortium is taking part in the Zero Emission HGV and Infrastructure Demonstration (ZEHID) Programme, which will see it install 220 high power chargers at around 30 public and private sites and launch 140 electric trucks on to Britain’s roads. These will operate in a range of scenarios, including more challenging longer routes.

Its recently published report Electric Freightway: Demonstration, Design and Implementation, outlines the successes and challenges its haulier members have experienced during the first year of the programme.

It reveals that the involvement of multiple partners in delivering the charging installations, including DNOs, landlords and contractors, has prevented the consortium from delivering any high-power charging infrastructure as yet, although the report says ground surveys have begun at the first depots and plans are in place for the completion of all partner sites over the next year.

As a result of the lack of charging infrastructure, consortium hauliers are currently operating their eHGVs on less demanding routes, with plans to extend their use to more challenging operations as more charging infrastructure becomes available and as they become more confident in vehicle capabilities.

Nonetheless, the report adds, some operators are already keen to test the limits of their eHGVs. It notes: “After just 10 days of local operations, Samworth Brothers Supply Chain sent one of their Volvo FM electric trucks, equipped with a solar powered refrigerated trailer on a delivery run from Leicester to Livingston – a distance of 623 miles – over two days.”

The first Electric Freightway member hauliers to run ZEHID-funded eHGVs include A.F.Blakemore & Son, Samworth Brothers Supply Chain, Boughey, and United Utilities. 

Amazon, GXO, Kuhne + Nagel, Maritime,Royal Mail, Wincanton and XPO are all expecting to launch their first Electric Freightway eHGVs over the coming months.

In addition BCA, Fergusons Transport and Yusen Logistics have all placed orders for eHGVs which will share a charging hub at Nissan’s Sunderland plant from next year.

All the vehicles on the road are Volvo FM Electric tractor units, in 4x2 and 6x2 configurations, capable of a GWT between 40-44t, depending on the trailer and use case. However, as the project progresses, a wider range of vehicles will be introduced, including from Renault Trucks, DAF Trucks and Daimler Trucks.

And, despite the lack of charging installations, as of early October, the fleet has achieved over 57,000 miles of eHGV trips.

The report outlines a number of challenges the members had met in the first year, inclusing the difficulty in trying to align charging and vehicle procurement. 

Fleet managers found that procuring vehicles was much easier than procuring charging stations, which are dependent on multiple parties, including DNOs, landlords and contractors.

The report adds: “Most operators reflected that they should have started developing infrastructure earlier, ordering vehicles when the timeline became clearer.”

Another pinchpoint identified was customer’s reluctance to accept that decarbonising a fleet comes with additional costs. The report states: “Our surveys of management at hauliers have identified that while customers expect their suppliers to decarbonise, it’s rarely expected that they will pay a premium for these services.”

Maintenance has also brought its challenges during the year, the report says. It noted that consortium members had expected the maintenace burden would be less, since the trucks have fewer moving parts than their diesel equivalents.

The report explains: “Early experience has shown that there can be some teething problems in how maintenance services for eHGVs are delivered.

“Some operators that already operate eHGVs have experienced issues with availability of parts and skills locally, due to the small volume of vehicles on the road, meaning repairs can take longer to perform.”

The full report can be downloaded here.