As the Head of Energy Products for Shell’s Commercial Road Transport business, I look at the lineup of low- and no-carbon solutions being discussed or offered not with a yes-or-no scrutiny, but with an eye for their purpose. I analyse fuel and power technologies for the roles they can serve today, tomorrow and into the future.
Sector shifting
As the world grapples with the pressing need to reduce emissions, heavy-duty trucks have emerged as a significant contributor to carbon footprints. In some markets, diesel, the fuel king for heavy-duty fleets today, will continue to be king for several years, maybe even decades. But in other markets, renewable diesel and bioLNG are already becoming more available and prominent as solutions to help customers reduce their fleet emissions now and meet their immediate sustainability targets.
As for the future for this sector: it will be mainly electric, and the transition is happening now. Entire electric fleets might be further down the road, but we’re already making headway, signaling a remarkable shift in the industry. Shell is leading the charge in revolutionizing the heavy-duty transport sector, building a European eMobility ecosystem for our customers’ energy needs along key transport corridors and at their depots and destination hubs, bringing seamless integration with digital tools, heavy duty hardware and services. Shell is helping fleet businesses get in on the ground floor and ready for the EV changeover, empowering them to start making changes today by incorporating EV into their fleets now.
Beginning of an eMobility Ecosystem
In a significant stride toward a more sustainable future for European fleets, the much-anticipated moment has arrived with the inauguration of heavy-duty truck charging at Shell’s bustling multi-fuel hub at Eindhoven Acht, making it Shell’s first public truck charging site in the Netherlands and our second in Europe, following the Shell Recharge launch at a truck stop at Hamburg Port earlier this year.
Nestled in the heart of the transportation industry, the Eindhoven Acht site is a cutting-edge facility that has long been a lifeline for truckers and an important truck stop for Dutch and international drivers to refuel, eat, shower, rest and more, accommodating a high volume of roughly 40,000 trucks annually.
However, this Shell Recharge launch marks a historic transformation as 300 kW charging bays are seamlessly integrated into existing infrastructure. This initiative not only promises reduced emissions but also helps trucking companies embrace the future by adopting electric technologies.
With electric charging via 100% renewable energy now available alongside low-carbon options like Shell Renewable Diesel and Shell BioLNG, fleets have cleaner and more sustainable options at their fingertips as Shell is supplying customers with the fuels and power they need no matter how far into the energy transition they are, no matter their strategic pathway.
Also making its debut: Shell Book & Charge, a charge point reservation system, which allows fleets to guarantee the availability of chargers and to reliably plan and schedule stops, reducing driver downtime. This development represents a crucial step in helping customers decarbonise their operations, both profitably and efficiently.
Learning via Living Lab
In conjunction with the launch of truck charging at Eindhoven Acht, the site is also a part of the Living Lab Duty Charging Squares project, sponsored by The Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management (I&W) and Rijkswaterstaat (RWS). The project utilizes the Eindhoven Acht site, as well as five other locations, to create a testing ground for heavy charging infrastructure, where knowledge and experience is collected, collated, and analyzed. The learnings are to be shared broadly to benefit Dutch fleets and sector-related businesses. In addition, the project aims to contribute to a faster development and roll-out of charging plazas in the Netherlands.
We believe the next step to making heavy-duty eTrucks scalable faster is to ensure all parties have access to the relevant data and insights they need to make the most informed business decisions, so we are excited for the opportunity to participate in Rijkswaterstaat's Living Lab at Eindhoven Acht and learn together. This program allows us to expand our own knowledge and understanding as we continue to roll out a public charging network for commercial road transport.
Learnings will be shared at various intervals, and we look to invite interested customers to townhall meetings and round table discussions.
Charge up for change
The importance of this milestone at Eindhoven Acht cannot be overstated, as it underscores a collective commitment to decarbonise the sector. It is a testament to the sector’s adaptability and a beacon of hope for a more environmentally conscious tomorrow, where fleets can continue to operate profitably, and heavy-duty trucks can navigate the highways with a reduced impact on the planet.
Years from now, we will look back at this site and remember the launching point for commercial road transport’s public charging network in the Netherlands. Getting onboard with electrification now means early adopters can be first to help shape the future. By beginning the transition today, they will be able to influence how an entire industry utilises EV tomorrow. And WE. ARE. CHARGED. UP. FOR. CHANGE.
