Spatiotemporal analysis of electric truck charging demand in Europe

Heavy-duty vehicle (HDV) electrification is accelerating across Europe, with battery electric truck (BET) sales projected to increase over time. The rapid shift to BETs is outpacing charging infrastructure and utility investments, and the rollout of charging infrastructure and integration of high-power loads into the power grid remain key bottlenecks for widespread HDV electrification. Decades of grid planning focused on efficiency and incremental expansion have left many European grids with limited excess capacity and long grid connection lead times. Regulations such as the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation (AFIR) mandate charging infrastructure be deployed with scaled implementation targets by 2030, but a detailed understanding of spatial and temporal charging demand across Europe is lacking, making effective infrastructure planning challenging.