IN Brief:
- Aldersgate Group and the REA identify costly grid connections as a barrier to electric HGV deployment.
- The report says zero-emission HGVs represented 0.3% of the licensed fleet in June 2026.
- Recommendations include planned network reinforcement, shared charging and battery storage where viable.
The Aldersgate Group and the Renewable Energy Association have called for Britain’s electricity networks to be planned around the growing power requirements of road freight, warning that slow and expensive grid connections threaten the wider adoption of battery-electric heavy goods vehicles. Their report, published on 22 October 2026, says businesses are already using electric trucks but face substantial infrastructure and financing barriers when extending them across fleets. Its central recommendation is a coordinated transition plan that accounts for freight depots and corridors before the additional electricity demand arrives.
The report, Ready to Move: a framework for decarbonising UK HGVs, was developed from engagement with businesses across transport, logistics and energy. It identifies three linked areas for government action: a stable long-term policy framework, financial measures that reduce risk for operators and investors, and grid and charging infrastructure planned ahead of demand. These are proposals by the two organisations and the businesses involved, not a newly approved national electricity investment programme or a binding instruction to distribution network operators.
The scale of the transition remains small compared with Britain’s existing goods vehicle fleet. The organisations report that zero-emission vehicles accounted for 0.3% of licensed HGVs at the end of June 2026 and 1.1% of new HGV registrations in the third quarter. Heavy goods vehicles nevertheless account for an important share of domestic transport emissions. The figures explain why planning electricity infrastructure before rapid growth occurs matters: a depot that can charge a small trial fleet may not have enough capacity for many vehicles returning at similar times.
A truck depot introduces a different demand profile from an office or a conventional warehouse. Vehicles may require substantial energy during limited overnight or turnaround periods, depending on their routes, battery capacity and charging strategy. Multiple simultaneous charging sessions can create a high local peak even where the daily energy requirement is manageable. The necessary work may extend beyond chargers on private land to transformers, cables, protection systems and reinforcement elsewhere on the network. The report says these connection requirements can be sufficiently expensive to deter investment, sometimes exceeding the cost of charging equipment.
The groups argue that national electricity demand planning has paid greater attention to some large loads, including data centres, than to commercial road freight. They want distribution capacity to be considered at logistics hubs and major road corridors, with better connection processes and investment in advance of demand where justified. That does not imply every freight site needs the same upgrade or that reinforcement can be delivered without regulatory and cost decisions. Local capacity, intended fleet deployment and the existing network determine how extensive any electrical work must be.
Shared charging facilities and energy storage could be part of the solution where they reduce operating costs or the need for a larger connection. A battery could absorb energy during lower-demand periods and provide part of the power required during a depot charging peak. However, storage cannot replace the need to import sufficient energy over the full operating cycle; its value depends on charging patterns, losses, available network capacity and commercial arrangements. Shared facilities raise further issues involving vehicle access, charger availability and responsibility for the connection. The report recommends evaluating such options rather than prescribing a standard configuration.
Connection infrastructure is only one obstacle. Operators face uncertainty about future vehicle values, battery condition, electricity tariffs and financing costs. The Aldersgate Group and REA propose targeted support through institutions including the National Wealth Fund and British Business Bank, particularly for smaller businesses. They also recommend more consistent battery-health information to help lenders and second-hand buyers evaluate residual values. These suggestions reflect the way transport and electricity investment decisions interact: buying a vehicle is insufficient if its intended depot cannot charge it reliably or affordably.
Businesses involved in the report include Tesco and Welch Group. Tesco’s transport director, Nick Potter, linked further electric truck investment to dependable electricity supply and easier access to charging capacity. Jamie Sands of Welch Group described the combination of connection delays, power costs and difficult vehicle finance as limiting wider deployment, despite the company’s experience of operating electric trucks in daily commercial service. Their comments illustrate specific commercial concerns, but do not establish that all hauliers face identical technical or tariff conditions.
The groups also seek a national HGV transition roadmap and continuity around the stated 2035 and 2040 trajectories for phasing out sales of new non-zero-emission trucks. They describe a need to clarify the interim role of lower-carbon fuels and to align regulation with the practical availability of vehicles and infrastructure. The report precedes the scheduled 28 October Autumn Budget and a government response to consultation on HGV carbon dioxide requirements. No new budget measure, network funding award or timetable for connection reform has been confirmed by the report itself.
For electricity infrastructure businesses, the main implication is that freight electrification is becoming a network-planning issue rather than only a vehicle procurement choice. Forecasting depot demand, deciding where to reinforce distribution assets and coordinating charging investments will influence which fleets can scale. The report does not quantify a national megawatt requirement or specify an approved reinforcement project. It instead argues for early planning so that electricity infrastructure, vehicle finance and operating decisions develop together, rather than leaving individual hauliers to resolve every constraint only after ordering vehicles.
