Heliox charges ground-breaking project for german truck corridor

September 30, 2021
©First Bus, 2023.
Project for megawatt charging systems (MSC) for trucks along 500km motorway A2 connecting Berlin and Dortmund  

Dortmund, September 2021: Heliox, a market-leading provider of fast charging systems for electric vehicles, has been selected for the HoLa project (Hochleistungsladen im Lkw-Fernverkehr), an innovation cluster for climate-friendly truck drive technologies recently presented by the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI) in Germany. Heliox, along with 12 other partners including two truck manufacturers, is part of the Fraunhofer ISI consortium that is working on the 27 million Euros-funded project that kicked off earlier this week. Heliox will also be leading a core working group at the demonstration stage - the ‘CCS installation and MCS extension work package’.

As part of their commitment to this transformational project, Heliox will set up two 600 kW charging points (Depot Charging) at each of two logistics hubs, constructions start in 2022, operation is planned for 2023. An expansion to this megawatt charging will then come into force in 2024. Additionally, a core part of the project is the intensive research and knowledge transfer by the community and partners, with a focus on interoperability between vehicle manufacturers and charging infrastructure providers, including economic efficiency and standardization. Heliox and other partners will also keep a close watch on the project’s efficacy and ease of scaling, for wide scale positive, implementable repercussions across Europe.

‘We are proud to work on this pioneering project, one that will serve as a blueprint for heavy-weight freight and truck sector with an impact across Europe. HoLa is the perfect example of a true collaboration across industry leaders, which plays to Heliox strength for being a driver for electric innovation in the heavy duty, truck segment. We look forward to working closely with the consortium to research and deliver innovation’, said Michael Colijn, CEO, Heliox Group.

‘Through the HoLa project, we are all contributing prototypical construction and operation of high-performance charging parks for trucks. In this way, we want to help integrate corresponding locations for e-trucks into logistics processes at an early stage and gather usage experience with the new type of fast charging of e-trucks,’ adds Dr. Patrick Plötz, Project Head, Fraunhofer ISI.  

The research and outcomes will be provided directly into the development of charging infrastructure for commercial vehicles coordinated by the National Charging Infrastructure Control Centre and will have a long-term impact on HDV/road freight movement in Germany and the rest of Europe. Currently, 96.5% of trucks run on fossil fuel and among the EU-28, HDVs are currently responsible for 27 % of road transport carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. The German Climate Protection Act stipulates that by 2030, one-third of the mileage of heavy road freight transport should be electric or based on electricity-based fuels.

About the Project

The project is part of the BMVI's overall climate-friendly commercial vehicles concept. High-performance charging is being tested at service areas and depots. The consortium includes experts from science, the automotive industry, charging infrastructure providers and the energy industry. The 500 km long route between Berlin and Dortmund is one of the main routes of European long-distance traffic and is ideally suited for testing the interaction of vehicles and infrastructure on longer corridors.  

Find more information regarding the project at https://www.hochleistungsladen-lkw.de/hola/

About Heliox

Heliox provides world class smart energy management solutions that are tailored and scalable within a fast-changing e-mobility landscape. We are working towards a sustainable world where a seamless charging experience is the standard for every electric vehicle, and this transforms the way we power our everyday. Founded in 2009, Heliox is the market leader in fast charging systems within public transport, e-trucks, marine, mining and port equipment. In 2017, the company installed one of Europe’s first and largest rapid charging networks for the e-bus fleet in Eindhoven, The Netherlands; and over the past two years, has created ‘model city’ energy ecosystems around the world in Den Bosch, Netherlands, Glasgow, Scotland and Montgomery County, Maryland (USA).  

Operating globally, the company is headquartered in the Netherlands with local presence in Germany, Sweden, United Kingdom, Spain and the United States.  

Visit us on: https://www.heliox-energy.com.