What Is HGV Charging?

HGV charging is charging infrastructure built for heavy goods vehicles: articulated lorries, rigid trucks, and other large commercial vehicles with battery packs many times the size of a car's, and far higher power requirements to charge them in a usable timeframe.

Why HGV Charging Is a Different Problem

A typical electric car battery holds 40–100 kWh. A large electric HGV battery can hold 300–500+ kWh, five to ten times as much energy to move into the vehicle. Charge it on the same power as a car charger and it would take most of a day. HGV charging infrastructure exists specifically to close that gap: chargers rated from 150 kW up to 800 kW-plus, paired with cabling, transformers, and grid connections sized to match.

Turning circles matter too. Articulated vehicles need far more manoeuvring space than cars, which changes depot layout and civil works cost well before a single charger goes in the ground.

Depot Charging Is the Default for HGV Fleets

Public rapid charging networks aren't built around articulated vehicle dimensions or HGV-scale power draw, so almost all UK HGV charging today happens at the operator's own depot, overnight or between routes. That means the infrastructure decision isn't really "which charger" so much as "how much power can this site actually get, and how do we share it across enough bays."

Most multi-vehicle HGV depots answer that with group charging: one master power distribution unit feeding several bays, so the site doesn't need a full-power grid connection sized for every truck charging flat-out simultaneously.

The UK Policy Backdrop

Government schemes including the Rapid Charging Fund have specifically targeted HGV corridor charging, recognising that grid capacity, not vehicle cost, is often the binding constraint on HGV electrification. For depot-based fleets, that policy support matters less than getting the site's own grid connection and charging architecture right, since that's the part operators control directly.

Neutron's HGV Charging Systems

Our Fleet DC Charging range covers HGV-scale power through DC Terminals and megawatt liquid-cooled charging for the highest-power use cases, all built to run on shared, dynamically balanced power rather than one dedicated grid feed per bay.

How long does it take to charge an electric HGV?

On a 350–400 kW DC charger, a large HGV battery (300–500 kWh) typically takes 45 minutes to 1.5 hours for a substantial top-up, though a full overnight charge on lower power is more common for depot-based operations that aren't time-constrained.

Why is HGV charging infrastructure more expensive than car charging infrastructure?

HGV chargers run at much higher power (150 kW–800 kW+ versus 7–50 kW for cars), which needs heavier cabling, larger transformers, and often a dedicated grid connection upgrade. Depot layout also needs to accommodate articulated vehicle turning circles, which changes the civil works cost as well.