E.ON is piloting a new reservation system for e-truck charging stations. The platform enables charging stops to be planned and charging points to be booked in advance. Reservations can be adjusted at any time should the route or arrival time change at short notice.
“One of the key challenges for transport companies and professional drivers when switching to electric trucks is planning charging stops. Orders and delivery times in logistics are tightly scheduled, which means vehicles should not stand idle longer than necessary. Our reservation system is designed to solve exactly this challenge,” says Arjan van der Eijk, Managing Director at E.ON Drive Infrastructure. “By booking charging points in advance, we ensure that electric trucks will no longer have to wait for an available charging station – at the same time, we enable drivers to charge during their legally required rest periods. With our application, we aim to make it easier for fleet operators to enter electric road freight transport and to sustainably drive forward the mobility transition in this important sector.”
How the Charging Station Reservation Works
Before or during a tour, charging points along the route can be planned. To use a charging station, dispatch staff or the drivers themselves can select the planned start time for the charging process; a tolerance window of 15 minutes before and after the reserved time is automatically included. The charging station is exclusively blocked during the reservation window and is available solely to the person making the reservation. Upon arrival, the driver unlocks the charging station via the reservation web app. If a booked charging point is not used, the reservation expires after the grace period, ensuring efficient utilization of the infrastructure.
If traffic congestion or other unexpected events change the arrival time or even the entire route, charging stops can also be rescheduled at short notice.
Pilot Phase: First Location in Munich-Karlsfeld
As part of the pilot project, the system will initially launch at selected locations. The first reservable charging stations are available at the MAN Service Center Karlsfeld (near Munich, close to the A99 motorway). Additional locations will follow. The aim of the pilot is to gather practical experience together with transport companies acting as test users, further optimize processes, and enhance user-friendliness.
Vision: Nationwide Reservation System for E-Truck Charging Stations
In parallel with the pilot operation, the reservation system is also being tested as part of a co-innovation project at the UnternehmerTUM start-up center of the Technical University of Munich, together with additional industry partners. “In collaboration with UnternehmerTUM, the focus is particularly on advancing the integration of further partners and solutions via technical interfaces, i.e., APIs. The goal is the joint development of an open, scalable reservation system that will, in the long term, include a large number of charging point operators in the truck sector, thereby providing a comprehensive reservation offering for e-truck drivers,” says Lioudmila Simon, Vice President E-Mobility Innovation at E.ON Group Innovation.
Companies interested in participating in the pilot project can contact eTransport@edri.com by email.
