Truck manufacturer Scania has unveiled a new company specialising in private and semi-public electric vehicle (EV) charging, setting a goal to install a minimum of 40,000 HGV-compatible charging points across Europe by 2030.

The new venture, called Erinion, will initially launch in Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, France, Germany, and the UK before pursuing a global rollout of “brand-agnostic” charging infrastructure designed for heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) of all types regardless of vehicle brand. Founded to provide solutions for depot and destination charging, it is hoped Erinion will accelerate both the uptake of electric trucks and Scania’s ambition for 50 per cent of its sales volume in Europe to be from electric models by 2030.

According to Scania, its depot charging solutions will go beyond providing chargers, grid connections, and installation services, and will span advanced integrated software and hardware, as well as operational services and support for business customers.The purpose-built solutions can be offered through either a standard upfront fee or a pricing model that allows business users to combine down payments, financial leases, and rolling fees for service and maintenance.

“With our solution, customers get peace of mind and can focus on their core business, while a specialised charging unit takes care of the hardware, software, financing and operational services required to operate charging at scale with superior quality and cost efficiency,” said Jonas Hernlund, head of energy and infrastructure at Scania Group.

According to research by Scania, business customers switching to electric trucks can expect reductions in investment needs by up to 50 per cent and operational savings of up to 15,000 euros per truck each year. “In the transition, the transport system will be redefined,” said Gustaf Sundell, executive vice president and head of ventures and new business at Scania. “Our new depot charging solutions company is a great example of an initiative that will play an important role for our customers in the future transport ecosystem when transitioning to electric transports.”

Erinion’s launch comes just weeks after Scania suggested hydrogen is unlikely to play a major part in the European HGV sector’s shift towards greener technologies, thanks in large part to an unpredicted knock-on effect of forthcoming EU regulations on driver safety. Scania said it expects to leap from diesel directly to battery power following radical improvements in battery duration and cost and now expects to be selling 100 per cent battery trucks by 2040.