The first charging corridors for e-trucks are being put into operation in southern Hesse these days. This is a model that is unique in Europe.
In Bensheim and Rüsselsheim, two Aral truck stops are already equipped with the new e-charging stations.
There are other charging options on the motorways into the Ruhr area.
In the coming years, the charging options are to be expanded rapidly.
There should also be a separate toll for e-trucks, the e-toll.
Alexander Junge, responsible for electromobility on the board of directors of the mineral oil company, said that more and more manufacturers were developing trucks with electric drives, and that some models would be ready for series production in the next few years.
The only thing missing is the charging infrastructure, which is why the e-trucks that have been in operation so far only travel within a small radius of their location.
"That's why we're building the first European charging station," says Junge, meaning long parking bays marked in blue with blue e-charging stations.
If a truck stop is equipped with such charging stations, four trucks can be charged at the same time.
This works no differently than with electric cars.
In about 45 minutes, a truck has power again for another 200 kilometers.
A time that is also sufficient for the truck drivers to take the prescribed breaks.
In the south, the network of loading corridors starts in Speyer, goes via Bensheim and Rüsselsheim, then via the A 3 to Bad Honeff, via the A 61 to Rheinböllen and then further north.
Hendrik Haßheider from the Federal Ministry of Transport sees the first truck charging corridors as a milestone on the way to significantly more electric trucks.
After all, heavy traffic on the road is responsible for a third of the pollutants from vehicle traffic.
Each electrically powered truck saves as much emissions as 50 electric cars.
New toll system favors electric drive
Haßheider promised generous subsidies from the Federal Ministry of Transport for the purchase of electric trucks.
And finally, there will soon be the e-toll, with which e-trucks pay significantly less tolls than conventionally operated trucks.
Johannes Pallasch from the National Control Center for Charging Infrastructure, a subsidiary of the Federal Ministry of Transport, sees the first electric trucks with a range of at least 400 kilometers on the market as early as next year.
Currently, the maximum range is 300 kilometers.
By 2025 there should be a well-developed charging infrastructure for e-trucks throughout Germany, and by 2028 a significant part of freight transport should be handled with e-trucks.
Bureaucracy often stands in the way of these goals.
Aral has opted for truck stops on the edge of the motorway for the loading corridors, "here we are the owners," says a spokesman.
Sometimes it takes up to five years from the planning of a corridor to its realization.
As soon as more e-trucks are on the roads,