Markets Germany Magazine 1/25 | EV Infrastructure
Faster, Longer, Cleaner
Germany is creating a nationwide super-charging network for electric trucks to meet the demand in the changing long-distance transport sector. Decarbonized logistics requires intelligent, gridfriendly solutions — and those who act now can profit by helping shape the future of intelligent charging infrastructure.
Mar 04, 2025
A model of the charging station of the future can be found next to a highway near Leipzig, on the main road route between Berlin and southern Germany. The Dutch company Milence opened a charging station for eight electric trucks there in December 2024. Beneath a long carport, drivers can charge their vehicle batteries while they take a break and recuperate. Futuristic-looking HGV charging stations will soon be a common sight on Germany’s highways: Milence — which is a strategic joint venture between Daimler, Traton Group and Volvo — is planning several charging hubs across the country.
“Germany is one of the key countries for freight transport in Europe. It is therefore vital that the right charging infrastructure is in place to accelerate the transition to electrification,” says Anja van Niersen, CEO of Milence. Many other companies will be following their lead, benefitting from the incipient expansion of the long-distance charging infrastructure throughout Germany. The network is of high strategic importance, as 80% of all goods in Germany are transported by road. The national government recently gave the go-ahead — with detailed plans for locations and tenders — for the construction and operation of charging stations for e-trucks along Germany’s Autobahns.
The Bottom Line
The expansion of Germany’s national e-truck charging network will generate plenty of opportunities for specialists, grid-stabilizing technologies and other smart solutions providers.
Big plans — big opportunities
The decarbonization of logistics opens up a range of business opportunities for international companies, says GTAI energy expert Tobias Rothacher: “The German market for e-truck charging stations — with all components and services from transformers to charging cables — is young and growing. Those involved now have the chance to shape this market.”
The German government’s plans envision the following: 2,400 conventional charging points and 1,800 particularly powerful MCS charging points are to be built on trunk roads throughout Germany. MCS stands for Megawatt Charging System and is considered a game changer in the industry. With a charging capacity of 1 megawatt (MW) for trucks, the new technology enables significantly faster charging than the current conventional system. This means e-trucks can be charged during the drivers’ mandatory rest period — a 45-minute break after 4.5 hours of driving.
MCS points enable haulage companies in Europe to operate e-trucks efficiently, as drivers can combine statutory rest breaks with charging stops so as not to lose valuable time on the road. Patrick Plötz, Head of the Energy Management business unit at the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI, sees this as an explicit advantage for smaller haulage companies too: “This enables logistics companies that do not have the option of depot charging to electrify their fleets.” It will also allow freight forwarders that do not yet have their own charging infrastructure in the depot to purchase battery-powered trucks.
The German government will award the contracts for the planning, construction and operation of the new charging stations in a tendering process that was piloted during last year’s development of a fast-charging network for electric cars. In the first round of tenders in the fall of 2024, contracts were initially awarded for 130 locations (of a planned 350) with fast and slow charging points along the freeways.
According to EU regulations, in future fast-charging facilities for heavy commercial vehicles must be available every 60 to 100 kilometers on all major German freeways. The German government’s plans envisage a nationwide network of fast-charging stations with no “blank spots” on the map. Charging stations are to be set up at rest areas; some will be truck stops with restaurants and overnight accommodation.
This article was published in issue 1-2025 of the Markets Germany Magazine. Read more articles of this issue here
Invitation for innovation
One challenge is to ensure that the expansion of the charging infrastructure doesn’t overload the electricity grid. “The grid is not yet designed for such heavy loads everywhere,” explains Rothacher. “This forces us in Germany to design the expansion of the charging infrastructure intelligently.”
In order to provide sufficient grid power for the energy-intensive fast charging of large commercial vehicles at all locations at all times, both the operators of the charging stations and grid operators are required to work on new solutions. Grid-stabilizing technologies such as bi-directional charging and the standard use of large battery storage systems as buffers will play a major role. If a lot of power is needed because several trucks are being charged quickly at the same time in one place, a local storage system can provide power without placing a massive load on the grid.
“With a continually refilled buffer storage system, the grid connections and cables do not need to provide the full load supply of an MCS charging station purely from the grid,” explains Rothacher. “Smart grid solutions like this will be the key to the success of fast-charging infrastructure in Germany.” So it’s not just the manufacturers and operators of charging stations in Germany who are looking forward to letting the good times roll. Everyone working with smart grid technologies has the opportunity to profit from expansion of the infrastructure.
Commercial Vehicle Market Powering Up
Experts from PwC’s global strategy team “Strategy&” forecast that by 2030, one in five buses and trucks worldwide will be electrically powered, rising to 90 percent of transport vehicles on the roads by the end of the following decade. In addition to the falling total cost of ownership and stricter regulation, market observers cite advancing technical innovations as the reasons for this development, particularly in Europe.
“After the transport sector struggled for a long time with the switch to electric trucks, we are now seeing a profound change in the industry,” says Jörn Neuhausen, Senior Director and Head of Electromobility at Strategy& Germany. “The third generation of electric trucks brings with it new platforms for different customer requirements and broad use in a wide range of application scenarios.”
The trend is particularly evident in the German market, where haulage companies are increasingly buying e-vehicles for regional transport. According to figures from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA), sales of electric trucks in Europe fell slightly in the first nine months of 2024 — but not in Germany. Here, the market for electrically powered trucks grew by a whopping 56.8 percent between January and September 2024. The increase in heavy-duty vehicles over 16 tons was even greater: that market rose by 107.4 percent compared to the same period last year.
