E.ON and MAN to build public charging network for electric trucks in Europe

E.ON and MAN Truck & Bus are cooperating for the expansion of HGV charging infrastructure in Germany and Europe. The companies will set up around 170 locations with around 400 stations for public charging of electric trucks. The new charging stations will be built along the existing MAN service network and will be available for charging vehicles from other manufacturers.

Around 125 sites are planned in Germany alone, creating the largest public charging network for heavy commercial vehicles in the country to date. Additional sites are being built in Austria, UK, Denmark, Italy, Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary. “Europe has set itself the goal of reducing emissions from heavy commercial vehicles by 90 percent by 2040.

Electric mobility is a central key to achieving this goal,” said Leonhard Birnbaum, CEO of E.ON. “We are investing heavily to give the infrastructure for electric heavy goods transport a decisive boost and to set the course for sustainable logistics and green supply chains. Nearly all major manufacturers are now focusing their development efforts on electric mobility. For the final breakthrough, we need a high-performance charging infrastructure that is designed on a European scale.

We are delighted to be leading the way together with MAN.” Alexander Vlaskamp, CEO of MAN Truck & Bus, adds: “For the mobility transition to be successful, we need around 50,000 charging points for heavy commercial vehicles in Europe by 2030. As a manufacturer of electric trucks, we are of course making our contribution to this.

I am delighted that E.ON is now a strong partner for the electrification of our service locations. We are thus laying another foundation stone for a public charging network. However, we still urgently need the support of policymakers to build this network on a large scale.”

The new sites will be located at MAN service bases, primarily in industrial areas with high truck volumes or near motorways. The layout of the sites is specifically designed for charging electric commercial vehicles, including a drive-through facility. Wherever possible, the stations are installed in separate areas from the MAN service operations – with separate entrances and exits for the charging area – to ensure that they are accessible to the public.

During the day, drivers will also benefit from existing facilities and recreation rooms. Built in a modular fashion, each site will be equipped with several 400 kW charging stations, allowing an average electric truck to recharge for a range of up to 300 kilometers in about 45 minutes. At a later date, the sites will be upgraded with the MCS megawatt charging system.

The first 80 sites of the new charging network are to be built by the end of 2025. Sukhjinder Singh, CEO of E.ON subsidiary E.ON Drive Infrastructure said : “The partnership with MAN Truck & Bus is a key milestone on the road to a sustainable future for heavy-duty transport. By combining MAN’s extensive service network with E.ON’s expertise in charging infrastructure, we are setting a new standard for electromobility in the commercial vehicle sector.”

Friedrich Baumann, Executive Board Member for Sales and Customer Solutions at MAN Truck & Bus SE: “With our new eTruck, we are launching series production this year of a vehicle that is suitable for almost all applications. The response has been very positive. However, the right charging infrastructure will ultimately decide whether our customers actually switch from diesel to electric drive.

I am therefore delighted that we are now tackling the electrification of our service network together with E.ON.”