About the Project

About

This project uses a high-quality sample of road haulage data within an advanced Agent-Based-Model (ABM), to understand exactly where en-route charging stations need to be built for Battery Electric Heavy Goods Vehicles (BEVs) across Scotland. 

Aim

The aim is to a support government, energy, and transport stakeholders with an evidence-based analysis of future BEV charging requirements. The analysis can help in planning future infrastructure investment needs and contribute to ongoing debates on optimum decarbonisation pathways for the nation. 

Objectives

The research will identify the following:

  • Key road haulage routes along which charging infrastructure is required.
  • The optimum location for individual charger facilities.
  • Charger station usage.
  • The demands placed on existing grid infrastructure, and where added substation capacity is needed.
  • The total power demands placed on the energy system.
  • The potential operational changes required by heavy goods vehicle (HGV) operators.

Authors

The work was undertaken by the Centre for Sustainable Road Freight (CSRF) based at Heriot-Watt University. This is a leading research centre in transport modelling and policy development for decarbonising freight transportation.

Funders

The work was commissioned and funded by Transport Scotland; the national agency responsible for delivering the Scottish Government's vision for transport. This commission is part of a commitment within the HGV Decarbonisation Pathway for Scotland.

Scope

This project focuses on en-route charging infrastructure in Scotland to service freight transportation by HGVs.

The project relies on a high-quality representative sample of industry provided telematics data, and where this was unavailable, synthetic data was generated.

Document Status

This is a high-level summary report delivered for wider stakeholder comment and feedback. An accompanying technical report will also be available on Heriot-Watt University’s website.