Charging electric trucks in the UK: depot, public hubs and cost per kWh

The network in numbers

• ZEHID: the Zero Emission HGV and Infrastructure Demonstrator (£200 million, 2024–2030) funds four consortia – eFREIGHT 2030, Electric Freightway (GRIDSERVE), ZENFreight (Zenobē/Voltempo) and Project HyHAUL (hydrogen) – with around 370 zero-emission HGVs and 57 charging or refuelling sites across the UK.
• Milence Immingham: the first UK hub of the Daimler/Traton/Volvo joint venture, near the Humber ports; further sites along the M1/M6/M62 corridors planned, MCS retrofits from 2026.
• GRIDSERVE Electric Freightway: HGV charging at Moto and other motorway service areas, 360 kW+ CCS, MCS-ready bays.
• Aegis Energy: multi-energy HGV hubs (electric, HVO, later hydrogen), first sites in the Midlands and North West.
• Zenobē: depot electrification with financing, batteries and grid connection – the model for fleets that do not want to own the infrastructure.
• Public MCS: single digits in 2026; plan on CCS 350–400 kW en route and depot charging overnight.
• ≈1,800 truck-capable charging points on Europe's main corridors (Milence count, 2026) – relevant for cross-Channel traffic.

What charging costs (p/kWh ex VAT)

• Depot, overnight, business tariff: 22–26 – the standard, 80–90 % of all kWh.
• Depot with time-of-use tariff and load management: 12–18 – overnight wholesale 6–8p plus network charges; pays off from ~5 vehicles.
• Public CCS 350–400 kW, contract tariff (Milence): 39.9 – top-up charging en route.
• Public HPC ad hoc: 45–55 (estimate) – the exception.

Depot investment case: what a charge point costs

The e-truck is only half of the investment. The other half stands in the yard – and without it the truck does not run. Estimates ex VAT 2026, range ±30 %, before the 70 % Depot Charging Scheme.

• Power per truck: 350 km/day ≈ 400 kWh; with 9 h dwell time, 50–100 kW is enough. Only two- or three-shift operations need megawatt charging.
• DC charge point: 50 kW ~£22k, 100 kW ~£30k, 200 kW ~£47k, 400 kW ~£80k, MCS from ~£215k (hardware incl. installation).
• Civil works: cable route, foundation, sub-distribution: £9–22k per charge point – the item most often underestimated.
• Grid connection: up to ~250 kW on low voltage; above that an HV connection with a transformer (630 kVA ~£95k, 1 MVA ~£140k, 1.6 MVA ~£200k) plus the DNO connection charge. Check the DNO's capacity map first – in constrained areas the connection, not the charger, sets the timeline.
• Load management: £9–13k one-off, £1–2k/year backend; cuts the required connection capacity by ~30 %.
• Per e-truck, all in: 2 trucks ~£65k per truck (low voltage, no transformer) · 5 trucks ~£80k (from ~250 kW a transformer of ~£95k becomes necessary and is spread over only 5 vehicles) · 10 trucks ~£73k · 20 trucks ~£65k. With the 70 % grant (cap £1m per organisation) that becomes £20–24k per truck – enter that value in the TCO calculator.

What is technically required

1. Request a connection from your DNO (capacity in kW, site, timeline) – 2 e-trucks need 100–200 kW, 10 e-trucks ~700 kW; lead time 6–18 months, so do this first.
2. Derive the charging profile from the route schedule: daily consumption ÷ dwell time = charging power per truck; an overnight window of 6–8 h is usually enough for 100 kW per vehicle.
3. Plan parking bays with manoeuvring space, foundations and the cable route to the substation; from 250 kW plan for a transformer and LV main distribution.
4. Load management with an OCPP backend; fire-safety concept agreed with the insurer.
5. Negotiate an electricity contract with time windows and cap peak demand (capacity charges); cost solar and storage as a second stage.
6. Apply for the Depot Charging Scheme in the current window (28 October 2026 – 29 January 2027) before ordering hardware.
7. Check core routes against Milence, Electric Freightway and Aegis sites; plan for public MCS from 2027 at the earliest.