Close-up of an electric truck being charged at a charging station, showing the connected charging cable and port.

FraunhoferISI/Amazon study: How many megawatt charging stations does Europe need?

A joint study by Fraunhofer ISI and Amazon provides important insights into the optimal number and locations of public fast-charging stations for long-haul truck transport in Europe. Based on the calculated traffic volume for 2030 and 1.6 million truck trip combinations, the study uses Amazon’s open source tool CHALET to analyse 20,000 potential locations for truck charging stations along European motorways. The results show that just 1,000 public megawatt charging stations could be enough to cover 91 per cent of the expected long-distance e-truck traffic.

In order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the transport sector in general and heavy goods vehicles in particular, all EU member states must develop an infrastructure for alternative fuels in the coming years. This also includes the expansion of public fast-charging infrastructure for HGVs along motorways. An EU regulation already sets specific minimum targets for the public truck charging infrastructure for all EU member states: for example, there should be a total of around 300 truck charging stations in Germany by 2030 and more than 2,000 across Europe. In view of the limited range of battery-electric trucks compared to diesel trucks, the question arises as to how many fast-charging stations are needed in Europe.

So far, however, there is little knowledge about optimal charging locations for long-distance lorry transport in Europe. Based on calculations of European truck traffic volumes in 2030, publicly accessible locations in Europe and existing truck stops, the study has therefore developed an optimised truck charging network that covers the expected charging demand with a minimum number of charging stations. The study also takes into account capacity restrictions in terms of space availability and grid connection and calculates an optimised, gradual network expansion along the routes with the highest demand in Europe.

1000 charging stations could cover almost all e-truck traffic in Europe

The results show that with a 15 per cent share of battery-powered trucks in long-distance transport, 1000 optimally selected charging stations distributed across Europe could cover 91 per cent of long-distance e-truck traffic, 500 stations could cover around half of the traffic. This is surprising, as the number of locations proposed in the study is lower than the EU minimum infrastructure targets. The authors took a conservative approach to their calculations: They assumed no depot charging and used a practical range of just 400 km, which some new battery lorry models already exceed today.

As far as the optimal locations for truck charging stations in Europe are concerned, the study recommends focussing on busy routes at important transport hubs. When the charging network is expanded at a later stage, locations on less busy routes can be added successively.

Fewer but powerful charging stations for a rapid switchover

Dr Patrick Plötz, Head of the Energy Economics Business Unit at Fraunhofer ISI and author of the study, emphasises: ‘The results show that even fewer charging locations than required by the European Union would cover almost all European e-truck traffic. However, these new sites must have sufficient grid power, with some requiring a capacity of up to 12 megawatts to supply up to 20 MCS connections. This highlights the challenges in terms of energy requirements and grid infrastructure that the electrification of European long-distance lorry freight transport entails. However, several European governments are already actively working on precisely these challenges.’

Patrick Plötz concludes that a strategically planned network based on megawatt charging stations could greatly promote the spread of battery-powered lorries in Europe: ‘Our study suggests that industry and politicians need to accelerate the further development and introduction of megawatt charging systems such as MCS. This will enable logistics companies that do not have the option of depot charging, for example, to electrify their fleets. Public MCS stations could avoid challenges such as power supply or the acquisition of appropriate real estate, which are often a major hurdle to the purchase of battery-powered trucks.’

The study is part of the HoLa project, which is being funded by the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport Affairs with a total of 12 million euros as part of the electric mobility funding guideline and is being carried out as a technology and testing project as part of the implementation of the ‘Overall concept for climate-friendly commercial vehicles’. Funding for this measure is also being provided as part of the German Recovery and Resilience Plan (DARP) via the European Recovery and Resilience Facilities (ARF) in the NextGenerationEU programme. The funding guideline is coordinated by NOW GmbH and implemented by Project Management Jülich (PtJ)

The analysis used Amazon’s open-source tool CHALET, which supports industry, governments and local authorities in finding optimal locations for electric vehicle charging infrastructure. It takes into account factors such as traffic flows, vehicle range and journey times to identify priority locations for e-truck charging points and thus accelerate the transition to a sustainable transport sector. www.isi.fraunhofer.de

You can read this and other articles on the topic of electric mobility & autonomous driving in the current issue of eMove360° magazine in german language. Order the print version in the shop or download the free PDF.