bp pulse has started the first charging corridor for medium- and heavy-duty electric trucks in Europe. Six public charging locations with ultra-fast 300 kw charge points aimed at electric trucks have been launched along a 600 km stretch of the Rhine-Alpine corridor across Germany. The corridor is one of the busiest road freight routes in Europe connecting key North Sea ports in Belgium and the Netherlands with the Mediterranean port of Genoa, Italy.
The new chargers have been installed on Aral retail sites in Germany between the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan area and the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region. Aral is bp’s German retail brand. In the next six months, two additional locations are scheduled to open on Aral retail sites to complete the new charging corridor.
The 300 kw charging stations are each capable of charging more than 20 trucks per charger each day.
“This is a significant moment for E-Trucks in Europe and an important step in our journey towards helping to decarbonize truck transportation,” says Nigel Head, EV truck director for Europe at bp pulse. “By electrifying this stretch of the Rhine-Alpine corridor with ultra-fast charging, bp is enabling EV Truck charging beyond “back to base” whilst rapidly learning customer insights which will directly inform our longer-term European network and proposition.
“By beginning the roll-out of a dedicated charging network for freight operators and fleets, with a focus on major logistics corridors, bp is supporting the electrification of medium and heavy-duty vehicles, decarbonizing the movement of goods, as well as people,” continues Head. “Ultra-fast charging in the right locations, combined with depot and destination charging, is critical infrastructure to accelerate the electrification transition, unlocking the economic and environmental benefits of low-carbon commercial road freight and transport.”
By 2030, it has been estimated that approximately 270,000 battery electric medium- and heavy-duty vehicles will be in operation in Europe, and they will require up to 140,000 public and destination electric charging points. This transition is already underway; the German truck fleet is now over 3.5 million vehicles, and bp pulse launched its first ultra-fast-charging facilities for medium- and heavy-duty electric trucks in Schwegenheim, Rheinland-Pfalz.