Scotland is testing a new way to charge electric trucks. And it could matter far beyond its borders

The new consortium, appropriately named SCALE (Scotland Charging to Accelerate Logistics Electrification), was launched in mid-November and is led by charging specialist Voltempo. At first glance it looks like just another pilot project, but the details suggest something more interesting: an attempt to solve a structural problem that has held back electric HGV adoption everywhere.

Most electrification programmes have focused on large fleets with depots that can host their own chargers. SCALE is asking a different question: what happens to the thousands of hauliers who don’t have that luxury?

Shared hubs: a practical answer for the operators left out of the transition

The centre of the project is a network of shared charging hubs: community-style sites that any participating haulier can use. Instead of every company trying to secure grid upgrades or long-term land use, the idea is to create a resource that smaller and mid-sized operators can tap into when they need it.

For fleets working out of rented yards, or for subcontractors whose routes change every week, this could be a lifeline. It offers a way into electrification that doesn’t require six-figure capex or a permanent depot. And although the hubs are being tested in Scotland first, the model could easily apply to countries where the industry is even more fragmented; from Poland and Italy to the UK as a whole.

The concept isn’t new on paper. What’s new here is the willingness to test it at scale with heavy vehicles, in locations where the economics are genuinely difficult.

Electric trucks will be tested on real jobs, not curated demonstrations

Another reason this project stands out is that the vehicles, from 7.5 tonnes up to 44 tonnes,  will run real work from day one. Timber transport through the Net Zero Timhaul initiative, food distribution, parcel deliveries to remote communities, even medical-supply routes: these are operations where range anxiety isn’t theoretical.

Moving goods across the Highlands is not the same as running electric trucks in Berlin, Amsterdam or Paris. The terrain, weather, and distances challenge the technology in ways you can’t replicate in a city. This makes the data produced by SCALE more valuable than a typical pilot report.

For hauliers elsewhere, these results may provide the first real indication of how electric chassis behave when the terrain is steep, the temperature is low and the charging opportunity isn’t always neatly scheduled.

Approval still pending but the outcomes could set the tone for 2026

The project has financial backing from Transport Scotland’s £2 million HGV Market Readiness Fund, but it still needs a formal review in early 2026 before the rollout can begin. If the government signs it off, the first hubs and vehicles could be operating later in the year.

That means nothing changes for operators immediately. But the findings from 2026 onwards could be influential not just in Scotland but across the wider UK and potentially mainland Europe. Other transport ministries are watching closely. Everyone is trying to answer the same question: can heavy-truck electrification work for the fleets that don’t control their own infrastructure?

Why the rest of Europe should pay attention

Scotland’s freight sector has an oddly European structure: lots of small fleets, lots of rural routes, and very few operators capable of hosting megawatt chargers on their own. In that sense, it mirrors much of the EU. This makes SCALE a useful test bed for what may — or may not — work elsewhere.

If the shared-hub model turns out to be workable, it could open the door to broader national or regional networks where chargers aren’t tied to a single company. That could be a turning point for SMEs, who currently risk being left behind as the biggest players adopt electric trucks faster.

It could also help level the playing field in markets where larger companies already enjoy better access to energy infrastructure, especially in the UK, Germany and the Nordics.

What hauliers should follow as the project develops

A few questions will determine whether SCALE becomes a blueprint or a footnote:

• Do shared hubs actually deliver electricity at a price operators can live with?
• Does charging availability remain reliable once multiple fleets depend on the same sites?
• Can rural locations maintain uptime without expensive grid work?
• And perhaps most importantly: does the total cost of keeping a 44-tonne e-truck on the road make business sense in everyday operations?

These are not theoretical issues. They are the practical questions hauliers ask long before anyone talks about sustainability goals.

If SCALE can produce convincing answers, the impact will spread far beyond Scotland.