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To reduce greenhouse gas emissions from heavy trucks, EU member states want to build alternative fuel infrastructure and fast charging for trucks along highways. In its first interim report, Fraunhofer ISI now announces findings about the joint learning success from September 2021 to December 2023, i.e. before the first charging points are set up. They are intended to improve the further course of the project.
12 million euros in funding to get started
In Germany the project is called “HoLa – high-performance charging for long-distance truck transport”. Supported with 12 million euros from the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport, it is intended to promote electromobility with heavy commercial vehicles to achieve climate goals. It is coordinated and scientifically evaluated by the Fraunhofer ISI. Initially, eight high-performance charging points (Megawatt Charging System, MCS) will be built at five locations. Planning and construction are supported by 22 project partners from industry and research.
The EU regulation calls for a significant expansion of the truck charging infrastructure by 2050. Fraunhofer ISI provides figures for this. Assuming that around 15 percent of all heavy trucks will be electrified by 2030 and taking into account the EU's requirement for fast chargers every 60 to 100 km along the most important European highways, there should be 142 charging locations by 2030. The plan calls for a total of 32 charging stations to be built by 2025, 104 by 2027 and 314 truck charging locations by 2030. The charging output will therefore increase from around 66 megawatts in 2025 to 918 megawatts in 2030.
Recommendations for the future
Network expansion and charging capacity planning should be approached proactively by network operators in order to correctly assess demand. It is recommended to combine fast and slow charging stations to meet growing needs. Fraunhofer ISI derives the following recommendations for action from previous project experiences, analyzes and results:
- MCS charging should be expanded along important long-distance routes.
- In depots and private parking spaces, slow charging with significantly less than 350 kW per charging point should be preferred in order to enable rapid expansion.
- A fast charging network with at least 1000 MCS charging points should be in place by 2030. If electric trucks become established more quickly in long-distance transport, there will probably be twice as many.
- Large charging locations with more than four fast charging points should preferably be placed on important long-distance transport axes, while at the same time small charging locations with two to four fast charging points should be created across the board.
- The development of a further fast-charging infrastructure should already be planned today with regard to the required expansion of the power grid and the required parking spaces.
- The infrastructure needs must be continuously expanded in line with the market ramp-up and usage behavior.
- All relevant actors such as land owners, network operators, concession holders or municipalities should be involved at an early stage.
- Capacity data should be made accessible by the local medium-voltage network operators.
- The connection conditions and procedures should be simplified and standardized.
- Calibration law should only be applied to MW charging systems as soon as enough measuring systems that comply with calibration law are available.
- In MCS expansion areas, network operators should provide more power in advance within the framework of the set regulatory limits.
(fpi)