The first electric heavy-goods vehicle (eHGV) has successfully passed through the Channel Tunnel, as part of a joint effort to advance low-carbon logistics by Kuehne+Nagel, LeShuttle Freight, Voltempo, and DAF Trucks.
The journey started at Kuehne+Nagel’s East Midlands Gateway depot where the truck was loaded with 12-tonnes of freight before being fully charged using the depot’s Voltempo HyperCharger. Officially opened earlier in January, site is home to the UK’s first megawatt-scale eHGV charging facility.
In making its 1,700km round-trip to Kuehne+Nagel’s depot in Haiger (Germany), the eHGV was topped up at public charging hubs operated by Gridserve (UK), and Milence in Dunkirk (France) and Maasmechelen (Belgium).
The vehicle used was DAF New Generation XF, which has a range of 500km (310 miles) on a single charge and supports DC charging up to 325kW.
By demonstrating that eHGVs can use LeShuttle Freight, the milestone accelerates the industry’s shift to more sustainable logistics.
As members of eFREIGHT 2030, Kuehne+Nagel, DAF and Voltempo said they will share insights from the trip to help accelerate the shift to low-emission transport.
eFREIGHT 2030 is part of the UK Government’s Zero Emission HGV and Infrastructure Demonstrator programme (ZEHID) funded by the Department for Transport and delivered in partnership with Innovate UK.
David Kiss, managing director of DAF Trucks, said: “This cross-Channel operation proves how electric freight can be scaled on one of Europe’s busiest trade corridors, supporting both UK and EU net-zero ambitions while evidencing that sustainable international transport is practical, efficient, and commercially viable today.”
Peter Roberts, commercial strategy director, LeShuttle Freight, added that the milestone marks “a major step forward towards greener supply chains”.
“It’s a significant move towards decarbonising freight transport and we’re proud to be rolling out this capability to all eHGVs later this year,” Roberts added.
