Future demand and costs of megawatt charging for battery electric trucks

Greenhouse gas emissions from heavy duty vehicles (HDVs) must be drastically reduced. Battery electric trucks (BETs) are the main option for low-carbon road freight transport, but they require a recharging infrastructure. However, a thorough cost analysis of public charging is lacking, especially for the Megawatt Charging System (MCS). Here we review existing individual MCS studies and add cost estimates for MCS. Our analysis shows that utilisation is the most important metric for MCS infrastructure costs. Individually, the levelized cost of MCS charging infrastructure in 2050 can be reduced to €0.03-0.07/kWh for MCS. A fleet-wide public and depot infrastructure for Europe would cost about €6.6-10.8 billion (or 2.9-4.7 €cents/km) per year for BETs. Our results quantify the infrastructure costs of HDVs to support policy decisions between competing low carbon road transport technologies.