The UK Government has announced plans for 54 new infrastructure charging hubs. The new network of hubs will be integrated into the road transport system with convenient locations at depots, motorway services and arterial roads.
Charging infrastructure is due to be strategically located across England, Scotland and Wales with a mixture of semi-public depot charging and public charging on motorways and A-roads. Around 90.0% of infrastructure will focus on depot charging solutions while the remaining 10.0% will be publicly accessible motorway services facilities.
Where possible, sites are being made megawatt-ready in preparation for future upgrades when trucks can accept 1MW charging rates.
Hydrogen refuelling hubs will initially focus on the M4 corridor with sites in Avonmouth and Swansea, the position of a third location is being considered. While the 54 planned hubs will be constructed under the ZEHID programme, infrastructure collaborations with existing bus depots have been explored. For example, First UK Bus is designing its depots as shared spaces for buses, trucks, coaches and vans. To bring charging costs down, it has proposed an increase in charging volume from truck operators in return for cheaper charging costs.
This collaborative approach looks at how different consortia and businesses can work together to further the common goal to decarbonise road freight.
This development will give operators more confidence when planning the transition of their fleets to non-diesel vehicles.
However, there is still a lot of work to be done. Mostly, this will focus on working out digital solutions to support these deployments, looking at booking systems for charging and optimising charging costs. A key operational objective is to establish how the semi-public network of shared depot charging can be appropriately managed.
Source: Analytiqa
