German energy company E.ON and Volkswagen subsidiary MAN Truck & Bus plan to set up a pan European electric charging network for trucks, starting this year, they said on Thursday.
Europe has set itself the goal of reducing emissions from heavy commercial vehicles by 90% by 2040 compared with 2019, Reuters noted.
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So far, however, zero emission electric trucks are rare in Europe, while the take up of passenger electric cars has grown steadily, although it is beginning to slow.
The lack of charging infrastructure is often a decisive factor for companies when deciding whether to opt for battery electric trucks.
E.ON and MAN told the news agency joining forces would allow them to overcome the hurdles.
“We are investing heavily to give the infrastructure for electric heavy goods transport a decisive boost and to set the course for sustainable logistics and green supply chains,” E.ON chief executive Leonhard Birnbaum said.
A first site in the multi country network would open this year with around 80 to follow by the end of 2025 and 170 locations planned long term, of which 125 will be in Germany, a statement cited by Reuters said.
Additional sites were being built in Austria, Britain, Denmark, Hungary, Italy, Poland and the Czech Republic.
Initially, each site would be equipped with several 400 kilowatt charging stations, allowing an average electric truck to recharge for a range of up to 300km in about 45 minutes.
Subsequently, they would install infrastructure to allow more rapid charging.
MAN plans to launch a truck with a daily range of up to 800 km later this year, Reuters noted.
Neither company gave detail of how much they were spending on the project, the report said.
