Park Your Truck: Charging Infrastructure for E-Trucks - Practical Recommendations for the Logistics Sector

How should charging infrastructure for electric commercial vehicles be planned so that it works in day-to-day logistics operations? The research project “Transportation in Charge” has examined this question in depth. The resulting recommendations have now been published, providing practical guidance for companies, municipalities, grid operators, charge point operators and other stakeholders involved in the continued rollout of e-truck charging infrastructure.

Park Your Truck was represented on the project advisory board throughout the entire project and played a significant role in developing the recommendations. The findings confirm an approach that has shaped our strategy for years: shared charging infrastructure needs to be built where logistics operators actually need it: in industrial areas, at freight and logistics centres, and along the main logistics corridors.

Three recommendations from the guide directly reflect what we put into practice every day:

Align Charging Infrastructure with Real-World Demand

One of the project’s key findings is the importance of demand-driven planning. Charging infrastructure for heavy-duty transport cannot be considered in isolation from vehicle movements, dwell times, grid connections and operational processes.

This is also reflected in Park Your Truck’s approach. Together with haulage companies and fleet operators, we analyse real routes and identify suitable locations for charging infrastructure. Existing dwell and mandatory rest periods are deliberately incorporated into the planning process. This allows charging to be integrated efficiently into transport operations rather than creating additional stops and unproductive downtime.

Shared Charging: Making Better Use of Infrastructure Together

Another key focus of the recommendations is the shared use of charging infrastructure. Not every company can or wants to install its own charging points at its depot — whether because of space constraints, limited grid connection capacity or the level of investment required. Particularly in industrial areas and freight and logistics centres, where transport flows are concentrated, charging points can be shared by several companies. This improves utilisation, reduces investment costs and makes electrification more economically attractive for all parties involved.

Park Your Truck has been pursuing this multi-user approach for years: charging infrastructure is combined with existing parking and logistics areas and made available to different users. Instead of isolated charging points, this creates infrastructure that integrates into existing transport and operational processes.

Reliable Planning Is Becoming the Deciding Factor

As fleets become increasingly electrified, the ability to plan charging is becoming even more important as the availability of charging points itself.

Park Your Truck’s reservation system therefore links truck parking, charging and route planning. Drivers and dispatchers can reserve charging points and parking spaces in advance and receive real-time information on occupancy and available charging power. This makes it possible to plan essential charging stops reliably along the route and coordinate them with statutory driving and rest periods.

The result is greater planning certainty in day-to-day transport operations and more efficient integration of parking and charging into existing routes.

Working Together to Drive the Transport Transition

The transformation of road freight transport will only succeed if all stakeholders work together. Park Your Truck stands for collaborative partnerships, practical solutions and a consistent focus on the real needs of the logistics sector. With our experience, innovative strength and clear focus on shared charging infrastructure, we are actively helping to drive the transition to sustainable mobility — today and in the future.

The recommendations from the “Transportation in Charge” project are available free of charge from Fraunhofer IFAM: Transportation in Charge – Fraunhofer IFAM (https://www.ifam.fraunhofer.de/en/magazine/transportation-in-charge.html)

About Park Your Truck 

Park Your Truck develops, operates and digitalises secure truck parking areas and charging infrastructure along European logistics corridors. The company works with fleet operators, industrial partners, landowners and local authorities to build the mobility and energy infrastructure of the future.