A new consortium of transport and charging businesses in Scotland is to trial electric HGVs and shared charging hubs to help cut freight emissions.
The Scale – Scotland Charging to Accelerate Logistics Electrification – group is being led by eHGV charging specialist Voltempo and supported by Transport Scotland’s £2 million HGV Market Readiness Fund.
Scale will deploy electric HGVs from several manufacturers, from 7.5 tonnes up to 44 tonnes.
Operators that have already signed up to the scheme include Creel Maritime and timber transport specialist James Jones & Sons.
The trucks will be tested in a range of duty cycles and use cases across Scotland, including food distribution, next day parcel deliveries to remote communities and movement of medical supplies.
A proposed community-owned charging network will be created, with shared hubs for small and large fleets, and dedicated financial support packages are planned, with an emphasis on helping smaller operators.
Voltempo will coordinate the consortium from a new Glasgow office, near two planned Voltempo HyperCharger sites that are due to go live in 2026.
Transport Scotland will review the Scale proposal in early 2026, and, if approved, rollout of the charging network and wider programme could begin late next year.
Michael Boxwell, founder of Voltempo, said, “Scotland has the vision and now the opportunity, to accelerate the transition to zero-emission freight and we are delighted to be leading Scale, a consortium specifically designed to give hauliers the confidence, the infrastructure and the support they need to make the switch to electric.
“By working together, we can build a national charging ecosystem that works for every operator, from major fleets to the smallest rural haulier, and that allows Scotland to meet its ambitious freight decarbonisation targets.”
