Truck Charging Demand in Europe Concentrates at Predictable Hotspots Requiring Targeted Grid Planning

Electrifying heavy-duty road freight is crucial for climate mitigation but introduces substantial additional local electricity demand. Understanding where and how high-power truck charging demand will cluster is essential for effective grid planning. Here we develop a spatiotemporal model of battery-electric truck charging across 30 European countries at 250 km² resolution, revealing a spatial concentration pattern with a small fraction of locations-primarily logistics hotspots and key corridors-accounting for over 50% to 92% of charging energy by 2045. These hotspots also correspond to peak power demands reaching up to 100 MW or more, indicating significant localized grid stress. Our findings highlight that freight electrification challenges are spatial coordination problems, necessitating targeted grid reinforcement and infrastructure deployment at identifiable high-demand nodes rather than diffuse coverage strategies.