eFREIGHT 2030 Members Out in Force at the Motor Transport Decarbonisation Summit 2025  

Several eFREIGHT 2030 members championed electrification at the 2025 Motor Transport Decarbonisation Summit in September. Hosted at Tyseley Energy Park, the event gave attendees the opportunity to hear from DAF, Voltempo and Berkeley Coachworks amongst others. Unlike typical conference formats, workshops across the afternoon focused on a hands-on approach to decarbonisation solutions, with active demonstrations and tours of the facilities at the energy park.  

Voltempo 

It was an historic day for the consortium leader Voltempo as Sir Vince Cable cut the ribbon on the company’s facility where it has now begun manufacturing HyperChargers. While other talks at the summit covered alternative fuels such as HVO, hydrogen, CNG and LNG, Voltempo highlighted how its HyperCharger is a breakthrough technology for electric trucks.  

Designed specifically for trucks, the HyperCharger is a plug-and-charge solution without screens or an interface. Drivers just plug the truck in and Voltempo’s software can identify the vehicle. Coloured lighting on the charger indicates charge status, making the system easy to understand.  

The charging equipment is accompanied by a slimline unit which houses the brains of the system. Now manufacturing has officially commenced, the team plans to build an additional 26 systems this year. Following Tesla’s example, Voltempo wants to install charging infrastructure in strategic locations in preparation for wider eHGV adoption.  

Michael Boxwell, CEO of Voltempo explained his vision for the regulatory landscape needed to support freight decarbonisation. After the depot charging scheme concludes, Boxwell expects more government support for infrastructure installations. He also expressed the need for an industry-wide long term decarbonisation plan which can be presented to the government to guide legislative changes required to execute the plan.  

With a clear roadmap from industry, Boxwell believes this will allow infrastructure providers to invest in charging installations with the confidence in how it will be used. He argued this will give the industry leverage to ensure it gets priority grid access to electrify fleets.  

Although the initial period to get involved with eFREIGHT 2030 has passed, Boxwell reminded attendees that the consortium has launched an associate membership scheme to allow other operators to benefit from the programme.  

Berkeley Coachworks 

Attendees were also given an insight into Berkeley Coachworks’ novel approach to electrification. The team explained that trailer technology has remained largely unchanged since the 1950s. Instead of continuing to use trailers as passive assets, Berkeley is developing an active trailer solution which can act as a range extender for eHGVs.  

The goal is to mount batteries on the trailer with enough capacity to increase the truck’s range by at least 50% in 45 minutes. This would require approximately 1.5 tonnes of battery weight. As payload restrictions are often cited as key barriers to eHGV adoption, just adding batteries to trailers would be counterproductive.  

Instead, Berkeley is aiming to take 1.5 tonnes off the weight of a standard trailer to maintain equivalent payload capacity. Since they have a fairly basic design to begin with, alternative materials are seen as the best way to lightweight trailers. The team brought a number of examples with them including a comparison between composite and steel wheels. A standard steel truck wheel weighs around 44kg, Berkeley’s composite solution cuts that to 16kg.  

Elsewhere on the vehicle, lightweight recyclable trailer panels can help to save around 500kg per boxside. Berkeley recently acquired a Northern Irish manufacturer that specialises in these panels, bringing its manufacturing capabilities in house.  

While composite materials can offer significant weight savings, these solutions can be costly and energy intensive. Rather than use carbon fibre, Pembrokeshire wool from local farmers near Berkeley’s headquarters in South Wales is being used with bioresins. Due to regional conditions, wool from the area is typically unsuitable for clothing, making it the ideal sustainable solution for composites since it would otherwise go to waste.  

To reach its target weight reduction, Berkeley intends to tackle the chassis next. However, the company is mindful of creating lightweight components that can be retrofitted to existing trailers. Over the next six months, the plan is to start looking at lightweighting other types of trailers including double deck units. A motorised hands free side slide system for curtainsiders is also in development.  

Early ambitions for the trailer electrification project will see the trailer used as a mobile recharging station. In future though, trailers could be fitted with e-axles to not only recover energy during braking but to add driven axles which can help to improve fuel efficiency, even with a diesel tractor unit. Berkeley is keen to fully explore the possibilities of reframing trailers as active assets.  

DAF Trucks  

In partnership with the dealer Ford & Slater, DAF showcased a range of eHGVs including units supplied to consortium members Tarmac, Maritime Transport, Kuehne+Nagel and Wincanton. While the manufacturer is trialling other alternative fuel options across the PACCAR group, its primary focus is electrification.  

Unlike other truck makers that favour nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) battery technology, DAF uses lithium ferro phosphate (LFP) chemistry for its longevity and suitability for road transport applications. As well as highlighting the charging options offered through PACCAR Power Solutions, the presentation emphasised the importance of driver training to get the most out of eHGVs.  

Alongside trucks funded by the ZEHID programme, DAF is anticipating more than 100 of its electric trucks will be deployed with UK customers by the end of 2025. The eHGVs on display at Tynseley Energy Park showcased the variety of applications existing technology can satisfy. 

EFREIGHT 2030 Steering Group Member, Andrew Scott, Positive Connections UK and TVS, took part in the “Feeding the Consultation” panel discussion, which focused on the Government’s forthcoming consultation on decarbonisation and electrification of the road freight sector. The session explored what industry stakeholders want to see reflected in the consultation, including priorities such as vehicle weight and dimension changes to support battery-electric operations, residual value guarantees, and clarity on ICE phase-out timelines. Andrew joined fellow panellists Lamech Solomon (Logistics UK), Colin Matthews (JouleVert), and Matthew Deer (Swain Group) to discuss how industry and Government can collaborate to shape a practical, commercially viable pathway to zero-emission road freight. 

Andrew Scott speaking at the MotorTransport Decarbonisation Summit 2025

Expect Distribution rolls out first electric HGVs under eFREIGHT 2030 project 

Bradford-based logistics provider takes delivery of two new Renault Trucks E-Techs to serve Palletline and cardfactory contracts.

Expect Distribution has taken delivery of its first two fully electric heavy goods vehicles as part of the eFREIGHT 2030 project, marking a major step towards its ambition to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2035. 

The two vehicles – a Renault Trucks E-Tech T 4×2 tractor unit with sleeper cab and a Renault Trucks E-Tech D Wide rigid with curtainsider body – are the first fully electric trucks to join Expect Distribution’s fleet of more than 100 HGVs. Both vehicles are based at the company’s Woodlands distribution hub in Bradford, just off the M62, where Bradford-based Expect Distribution, a national logistics provider, also has two new 240kW chargers, installed by Voltempo, each capable of charging two vehicles simultaneously.  The new charging facilities will be used primarily to recharge the trucks overnight, with the potential to make planned charging available to third parties at other times. 

One of the vehicles will be used daily to trunk to the Palletline hub in Birmingham, while the second will be deployed on store deliveries for cardfactory across the local region. Together, the trucks are expected to deliver an annual saving of around 195 tonnes of carbon dioxide compared with their diesel counterparts. “These are the very first electric trucks to join our fleet, and we see this as the start of our electrification journey,” said Andy Taylor, Operations Director at Expect Distribution. “The eFREIGHT 2030 project has given us the opportunity to invest in technology that not only reduces our carbon emissions but also to prove that sustainability in logistics can be achieved without unsustainable cost increases.”  

Expect Distribution takes delivery of two new Renault Trucks E-Techs to serve Palletline and cardfactory contracts 

Commenting on what this means for their customer, Mr Taylor said: “We’ve worked closely with cardfactory to align this project with their sustainability goals and to optimise routes to ensure we can service their stores effectively and efficiently with the new EVs.” 

He added: “As a business we are fully committed to achieving Net Zero by 2035, and we see eFREIGHT 2030 as a key step in helping us, and our customers, deliver on these ambitions. We’ll continue exploring where further electrification is appropriate across all our routes.” 

Michael Boxwell, CEO of Voltempo, said: “It’s fantastic to see Expect Distribution deploying their first electric HGVs under the eFREIGHT 2030 programme. These trucks will not only reduce emissions immediately but will also provide valuable real-world data and insights into how eHGVs can operate efficiently in everyday logistics. The more companies that take this step, the faster we can accelerate the industry’s transition to zero-emission road freight.” 

(L) to (R) Jack Boldy, Head of Distribution – Expect Distribution, Richard Davies, Director – JDS Trucks, Dan Wignall, Head of Contracts  – Expect Distribution, Andy Taylor, Operations Director & Co-owner – Expect Distribution, Tom Reed, JDS Trucks, Jack Watmore, Fleet Compliance Manager – Expect Distribution, Mark Dodsworth, Contract Manager for cardfactory – Expect Distribution 

“Expect Distribution’s introduction of its first electric HGVs and charging facilities marks a significant step forward – both for the eFREIGHT 2030 project and for the UK’s shift towards zero-emission freight,” said Simon Buckley, Knowledge Transfer Manager for Zero Emission Mobility at Innovate UK. “Through ZEHID, Innovate UK in partnership with the Department for Transport is supporting projects like this to show how zero-emission road freight can be delivered in practice. Together, we are helping the UK lead the way towards cleaner, smarter logistics.” 

Led by Voltempo, the eFREIGHT 2030 consortium is one of four UK government–funded demonstrator projects under the Zero Emission HGV and Infrastructure Demonstrator (ZEHID) programme, which aims to kickstart the uptake of zero emission HGVs. Expect Distribution’s new electric trucks follow earlier deployments by eFREIGHT members M&S, Welch’s Transport and Kuehne+Nagel, with more deployments to follow over the coming months and next year. 

Andy Taylor, Operations Director & Co-owner – Expect Distribution 

The eFREIGHT 2030 consortium is introducing up to 100 electric HGVs – a mix of 4×2 and 6×2 tractor units – and 32 new charging locations, the majority of which will have megawatt-charging capacity, over a multi-year real world evaluation that will pave the way for zero emission transport.  

To keep abreast of eFREIGHT 2030 news and developments, visit eFREIGHT’s news page.