The push to try to make electric HGVs happen continues, with Gridserve opening two of the UK’s first truck-recharging facilities.
The firm’s latest venture has seen Gridserve open EV HGV hubs at Extra’s Baldock Services on the A1(M), and Moto Exeter on the M5. The Exeter site offers six charging bays and the Baldock one four, with all units capable of delivering electricity at speeds up to 350kW.
The two sites feature a drive-through layout meaning trucks need not reverse to use them, while charging is possible on both sides of each device.
The projects are the result of government funding, issued via the Department for Transport.
Gridserve’s chief executive, Daniel Kunkel, said the new chargers demonstrate that “electric freight isn’t some distant future concept anymore, it’s a live, operational reality”.
The company also asked: “Is this the beginning of the end for diesel trucks? We like to think so”, although it added there remains “a long way to go”.
As UK policy currently stands, new diesel HGVs weighing 26 tonnes and less will be banned from sale from 2035, with all new trucks having to be zero emission from 2040.
Electric HGVs make up roughly 1% of the total market at present, with concerns ranging from downtime caused by charging, to fact the four tonnes a typical battery pack weighs reduces a 44-tonne truck’s cargo capacity by over 10%.
