As fleets begin planning for long-haul electric trucks, new research suggests that the biggest constraint on charging infrastructure may not be truck technology or charger deployment — it’s the electric grid.
The study finds that grid capacity could play a decisive role in how public charging networks for heavy-duty electric vehicles develop, potentially shaping where stations are built and how quickly fleets can electrify freight operations.
The authors, which are affiliated with the Norwegian University of Science and Technology and the Norwegian School of Economics, used a nationwide Norwegian case study based on real candidate charging sites provided by a charging station operator. The researchers modeled how a public charging network for battery-electric heavy-duty trucks could be deployed under uncertainty around freight demand and grid capacity. While the modeling focused on Norway, the findings highlight challenges likely to appear in other markets as electric freight infrastructure scales.
One of the study’s most notable conclusions is the outsized role of grid constraints. In one scenario analyzed by the researchers, removing grid limitations increased the share of freight demand that could be served by charging stations by only about 2%. But keeping grid capacity fixed at existing levels reduced the share of covered demand by 19%.
For fleets and infrastructure developers, that gap suggests power availability may be one of the most significant variables shaping the future electric truck charging network.
The authors also found that grid constraints influence how charging networks develop geographically. Limited grid access tends to discourage the construction of a few very large charging hubs and instead pushes networks toward more distributed sites with moderate capacity. That pattern could affect how and where fleets plan long-haul electric routes.
Although the study is based on European freight corridors, the implications align closely with challenges already emerging in the U.S.
Across North America, fleets and charging developers are increasingly encountering long timelines for utility interconnection and limited available power at freight facilities, distribution centers, and highway truck stops. In many cases, high-capacity charging installations require new substations, transformer upgrades, or other grid infrastructure that can take years to complete.
Those realities are beginning to influence how heavy-duty charging networks are planned. Rather than simply installing chargers wherever freight demand exists, developers must often prioritize locations where sufficient electrical capacity can be secured.
The research also found that early charging investments may deliver the greatest gains in coverage. In the study’s base scenario, the modeled network eventually covered about 92% of electric freight demand over the planning horizon, rising from 65% in the initial phase to 97% in the final phase.
Another encouraging finding for fleet operators is that well-placed charging stations can serve freight routes with relatively small detours. Between 48% and 60% of covered demand in the model required less than a 1% route detour, suggesting that strategically placed corridor charging could support freight operations without significantly disrupting existing logistics networks.
Still, the study underscores that the pace of electric truck adoption may depend as much on energy infrastructure as on vehicle technology. While battery ranges, vehicle availability, and charging hardware continue to improve, grid capacity and utility planning cycles could ultimately determine how quickly large-scale freight electrification becomes possible.
For U.S. fleets exploring long-haul electric trucks, that dynamic may shift the focus of planning discussions. Instead of asking only where chargers should be installed, fleets may increasingly need to ask where sufficient electricity can be delivered, and how long it will take utilities to provide it.
As electric freight infrastructure expands, the study suggests the industry’s next major challenge may not be building chargers, but ensuring the grid can power them.
