2023-10-23 06:03:00
It will be possible for another year with an old-fashioned diesel engine, but from 2025 the supply of inner cities via trucks with a combustion engine will be a thing of the past. Five years later, when the zero-emission zones are fully in force, regarding 10 percent of the truck fleet should be electric.
And they all have to be loaded. A big task because there are only six so-called charging plazas for electric trucks. That is why Rijkswaterstaat announces that it will step up its efforts by expanding the charging plaza network. Starting with a major investigation. “We will investigate the technology of those charging plazas, the integration with the energy grid, how those plazas work logistically, how you design them spatially and what the revenue model might be,” says project leader Rob de Groot of Rijkswaterstaat. “But also: what is the charging quality. We really inspect in detail.”
Little practical experience
The researchers do this with information and data that they obtain from, among other things, the six existing charging plazas and knowledge institutions that have been working on the phenomenon for some time. De Groot: “There is little practical experience yet.” The results of the research are used to improve the design and use of charging facilities for electric trucks. The intention is also to provide more clarity regarding investments in equipment, such as a battery system. De Groot: “But the main goal is that our findings will help with scaling up.”
The intention is to set up around 60 charging plazas in the coming years, creating a nationwide network.
The electrification of trucks is now going relatively fast. At the beginning of 2023, approximately 400 electric trucks were on the road in the Netherlands. By the end of this year, more than a thousand e-trucks will be on the road, ING Research reported earlier this month. A more than threefold increase compared to 2022. This ‘acceleration’ is mainly due to subsidy incentives and because the production of e-trucks has restarted following a stagnation due to corona.
Supermarkets in the cities
Is the Dutch government still on time to launch the charging plaza network? “It is not yet too late to start this initiative, but several frontrunners such as supermarkets want to make as many electric deliveries as possible in city centers from 2025, also because they will be obliged to report emissions,” says sector economist Rico Luman of ING. “The development of charging locations is already gradually starting, but it is still far from enough.”
In addition to private charging stations (of companies), public charging points along public roads are important for further scaling up of electric transport, according to Luman: “For long journeys you must also be able to charge publicly. It is crucial for public charging stations that the charging speed is high. If you use If you can charge 350 kW on the road, following an hour, which is already a long time, you can travel another 200 to 250 kilometers. In road transport, with low margins, it is not an option to have drivers wait outside rest periods. Furthermore, the space required for a loading location is sometimes underestimated. After all, you are dealing with tractor-trailer combinations that also have to be able to turn.”
The highest threshold when setting up charging plazas is the power supply, Luman knows. Many companies face a waiting period of several years for a grid connection. “The peak load is close to the limit in some areas. That is why it is especially important that investments in strengthening the grid are accelerated.”
According to the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management and Rijkswaterstaat, the charging plazas for e-trucks will mainly be constructed along freight corridors and urban junctions. The Netherlands is also obliged to do this by the European Union.
Also read:
Electric trucks are popular, but they are too expensive for smaller companies
Transport companies are rapidly electrifying their truck fleets. Sales have tripled, ING reports. But the flame is far from gone.
1698584075
#Rijkswaterstaat #quickly #set #large #charging #plazas #etrucks
