Partnership is Leadership: Electrifying U.K. Freight

Project summary

The Zero Emission HGV & Infrastructure Demonstrator (ZEHID) Programme, launched in October 2023, is a UK Government initiative backed by £200 million to accelerate the adoption of near-zero emission trucks. Delivered in partnership with Innovate UK and the Department for Transport, the programme comprises four demonstration projects. Shortly after its launch, DFDS identified a strong alignment between its decarbonisation strategy and one of the projects: ZENFreight. Following a project lead transition and re-launch in early 2024, DFDS officially joined the ZENFreight consortium in July 2024. As part of this partnership, DFDS secured funding for eight electric HGVs and depot charging infrastructure, supporting its commitment to achieving net zero emissions by 2050.

ZEHID is a 5-year program. All charging infrastructure and eHGV’s are to be deployed by end of Q1 2026. Data will be provided to IUK (Innovate UK)/DfT (Department for Transport) through Q1 2030.

The Project in Numbers

The Trucks:

8

Volvo FM Battery Electric 4×2 Tractors
Range

300

kilometers on full 540kWh battery
Power Performance:

490

kW continuous power (666hp)
Charging time:

2.5

hours with DC charging (max 250 kW)
Charging slots

20

DC chargers (360kW) and 2 AC chargers (43kW) across 7 locations

Project Phases

Phase 1 – Completion: End of July 2025

Sandhills, Grimsby & Simonswood live with BEV’s deployed and in operation. 360kW DC charger with 4 charging points/bays. Ballymena due to go live July 2025 with a 43kW.
Phase 2

Killingholme and Peterborough receiving a new PoC (1MW ea), 360Kw charger with 4 charging points/bays.
Shetland – Lerwick (DFDS site) 43Kw.

Timeline

OCT/2023

Initial Launch of the ZEHID program
JUL/2024

DFDS join ZEHID with the financing of 4 eTrucks
MAR/2025

DFDS increases eTrucks to 8
MAY/2025

Sandhills, Grimsby & Simonswood charging stations deployed
AUG/2025

Ballymena charging stations deployed
OCT/2025

Shetland (Lerwick) charging stations deployed
NOV/2025

Killingholme & Peterborough charging stations deployed

Who Was Involved

Innovate UK – part of UK Research and Innovation, is the UK’s innovation agency. Our mission is to help companies to grow through their development and commercialisation of new products, processes and services, supported by an outstanding innovation ecosystem that is agile, inclusive and easy to navigate.
ZERO by Dynamon – is an advanced fleet planning software designed to simplify the transition to electric vehicles (EVs) while maximising cost savings and operational efficiency. ZERO provides data-driven insights to optimise EV adoption, charging infrastructure planning, and total cost of ownership (TCO) modelling.
Volvo Trucks – is the primary technology provider for this project and offers operators complete transport solutions with a full range of trucks and services from 10 to 44 tons. Customer support is provided via a global network of dealers with 2,200 service points in about 130 countries. Volvo trucks are assembled in 12 countries across the globe.
DFDS – operates a transport network in and around Europe with an annual revenue of DKK 30bn and 16,500 full-time employees.
We move goods in trailers by ferry, road & rail, and we offer complementary transport and logistics solutions. We also move car and foot passengers on short sea and overnight ferry routes. DFDS was founded in 1866 and headquartered and listed in Copenhagen.
Imperial College London – founded in 1907, is a world-leading university for science, technology, engineering, medicine and business, with a mission of ‘Science for Humanity’ – using science to try to understand more of the universe, and improve the lives of more people in it.
Ricardo – is a global strategic, environmental and engineering consultancy. We deliver solutions that intersect the global transport, energy and climate agendas to create a safe and sustainable world.

Lessons Learned

Real-world vs theoretical performance

Modelling through OEM or optimisation software has been shown to undercalculate the performance of the eHGV compared to real-world experience. We are consistently experiencing greater mileages and lower kWh/mile averages. We are therefore, re-evaluating our approach towards permissible transport runs and on-road charging infrastructure requirements.
Truck cost/TCO & the need for public funding

The total cost of ownership (TCO) of an eHGV is less favourable in the UK market than within most EU countries. This is broadly due to the relatively high price of electricity and the relatively low price of diesel, as well as the cost of buying or leasing the vehicles themselves. This is a key challenge when trying to transition to zero-emission solutions, as the transport company cannot cover the increase in operational cost. From this perspective, public funding for the development of electric mobility is a crucial factor which positively impacts the aspired TCO parity between standard diesel truck and electric truck operations.
Limited network charging

Public charging infrastructure has greatly improved for cars and small commercial vehicles in the last 5 years, but the UK lacks fast development and uptake of eHGV specific charging stations. Some of the planned development projects will only be realised from mid-2026 onwards, and several are not expected until 2027 and beyond. There’s a challenge to secure the required grid capacity at existing truck depot sites, and a corresponding limitation to the truck’s operational radius. For example, the Ballymena eTruck will operate out of Sandhills until charging infrastructure can be completed, and the First Killingholm eTruck will operate out of Grimsby until charging infrastructure is completed
Length + weight restrictions

6 x 2 axle eHGV units are longer than the diesel equivalents, which means that a truck/ trailer combination with a standard length Euroliner is above the fixed length limit. A dispensation is expected based on optional aerodynamic features of the truck front end, and an accompanying positive trailer turning circle report – but this is not committed to formally by the DfT. Similarly, whilst there is a dispensation for the GVW of a 4 x 2 axle eHGV to 42,000kgs, there is no increase in the allowable axle weights on the truck – which will often be the limiting factor on the total achievable payload. Clarity from the DfT on the allowable length and weight is needed – of the kind that we see in some EU markets – to support the further adoption of eHGVs on UK roads.

Project summary

The Project in Numbers

The Trucks:

Range

Power Performance:

Charging time:

Charging slots

Project Phases

Phase 1 – Completion: End of July 2025

Phase 2

Timeline

OCT/2023

JUL/2024

MAR/2025

MAY/2025

AUG/2025

OCT/2025

NOV/2025

Who Was Involved

Lessons Learned

Real-world vs theoretical performance

Truck cost/TCO & the need for public funding

Limited network charging

Length + weight restrictions

Further Reading

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