The program will see the company expand the heavy vehicle charge network across Europe the semi public model allowing truck operators to make chargers in their depot or logistic centres available to outside fleets when they aren’t in use.
Daimler claims this will rapidly increase access to fast charging while helping truck operators to offset their costly infrastructure investments.
The company said that the first sites in the program are already up and running with the first opening in October and a second being added in December.
It is claiming that a wider rollout across Germany and Austria is ahead in the next few months and across 2026 generally and that this will be followed by other European markets.
Daimler said it plans to have more than 3,000 fast-charging points by 2030, positioning the network as a major complement to public charging infrastructure.
Charging infrastructure has been one of the major sticking points in the uptake of electric trucks in Europe and has resulted in discussion as to whether the EU softens its stance on electric vehicle mandates which start in earnest over the next few years.
Daimler says that the program allows truck operators with charging stations in their depots to retain full control of pricing and access, while also generating external revenue from unused capacity.
Daimler has worked with a partner company, Spirii, to manage the technical, software and billing structure of the program through its TruckCharge software platform. The program can handle planning, booking, reserving and payment functions in one self contained system..
Daimler says this will help reduce cost barriers for operators investing in their own chargers as well as increasing the number of available sites for the broader freight sector, killing two birds with one stone.
The head of Zero Emission Vehicle Business Solutions at Mercedes-Benz Trucks, Alexander Müller, said the semi-public charging concept will help ensure the transition to electric powered trucks as easy as possible, creating new efficiencies for operators as well as improving utilisation.
The CEO of Spirii, Tore Harritshøj said the lack of dedicated heavy-vehicle charging remains one of the transport industry’s biggest obstacles in the take up of electric power.
“Leveraging private depots as part of a connected network, he notes, can help accelerate the shift to electric transport without waiting years for large-scale public infrastructure,” said Harritshøj.
Europe’s freight sector is under pressure to decarbonise while maintaining uptime, and with this in mind Daimler’s semi-public network concept presents a potential bridge between private depot charging and large-scale public hubs.
