Fleete has opened a dedicated commercial vehicle electric charging hub at the Port of Tilbury.
The 5MW facility features 16 ultra-rapid chargers enabling up to 16 electric HGVs to charge simultaneously.
This site is designed to accelerate fleet electrification across the UK by providing high-powered charging at logistics locations without the need for depot upgrades.
Fleete’s hub, delivered in partnership with the Port of Tilbury and Thames Freeport, is supported by £1m from the UK Government’s Thames Freeport Seed Capital Programme.
Further funding was provided by the Zero Emission HGV and Infrastructure Demonstrator (ZEHID) Programme, funded by the Department for Transport in partnership with Innovate UK.
The investment aims to mark an important step in the Port of Tilbury’s green energy transition, supporting cleaner air for local communities, to enable businesses to capitalise on opportunities in sustainable transport and contributing to economic growth and job creation.
Located at one of the UK’s busiest multimodal freight hubs, Fleete’s facility serves the growing number of zero emission HGVs operating in and through the Port of Tilbury and along the A13 corridor into London.
It also supports national infrastructure programmes, including the Lower Thames Crossing, where contractors are switching to electric vehicles to reduce emissions.
The five megawatt (MW) site includes: six Flex 540kW chargers plus 12 Flex 500A dispensers from Siemens.
There are three charging islands, each of which can be upgraded to MCS with two 540 kW and four dispensers on each bay.
There are also four charging points powered by Power Electronics, featuring two NB Cooled Dispensers and one NB Station system, delivering up to 270 kW per charging point, with upgrade capacity to 360 kW.
The equipment is deployed as part of the eFREIGHT 2030 project.
The hub was delivered with design and construction support from industry partners, including Envevo, bringing high-voltage charging infrastructure into operation within a live port environment.
Chris Morrison, CEO at Fleete, said:
“Today marks a major milestone for Fleete and for the wider logistics sector.
“From announcing the project last year, to now opening the site, our focus has been on proving that shared, high-capacity charging infrastructure can remove one of the biggest barriers to fleet electrification.
“The Port of Tilbury hub shows what’s possible when industry and government work together to deliver infrastructure at scale.
“By supporting customers and collaborating with partners across the supply chain, we’re helping accelerate the transition to zero-emission commercial transport where it’s needed most.”
Aviation, Maritime and Decarbonisation Minister Keir Mather, added:
”This is a significant milestone in our drive to decarbonise road freight, helped by £1million Government investment at the Port of Tilbury site to install EV chargers for HGVs.
“Road freight is the backbone of our economy, keeping goods moving and businesses growing. By supporting the sector to go electric, we’re cutting emissions and backing the industry to thrive long into the future.”
David Webster, Regional Director and Tilbury and Thames Freeport board member, said:
“The opening of Fleete’s EV charging hub is a significant step forward for the Port of Tilbury as we work to support the decarbonisation of freight and logistics at one of the UK’s busiest ports.
“With thousands of HGV movements through the port every day, access to high-capacity, reliable charging infrastructure is critical.
“This shared facility will play an important role in helping our customers reduce emissions while maintaining efficient operations.”
Stuart Rimmer, CEO (Interim) at Thames Freeport, added:
“This is exactly the kind of project Thames Freeport was established to support.
“By using targeted seed capital funding to unlock private investment, we are helping to deliver infrastructure that strengthens the Port of Tilbury and supports its long-term competitiveness.
“For Thurrock and the wider Thames Freeport region, this means cleaner freight operations, modern infrastructure and continued confidence that the area is well placed to attract further investment in sustainable logistics.”
Ben Fletcher, Chief Executive at Logistics UK, said:
“Public charging infrastructure on this scale, and in such a key strategic location, is precisely what is needed to encourage more operators to use electric vehicles.
“The charging hub is vast, and with 16 ultra rapid chargers it will help operators make the switch to electric fleets – especially smaller operators who can struggle to install chargers at their depots.”
