What is depot charging and why is it the rule for logistics companies?

Depot charging means the vehicles charge overnight or between routes at their own site, at moderate power over several hours. It is the rule for logistics companies because the vehicles are parked in the depot anyway and a charging window of 6 to 10 hours allows a charging power of 50 to 150 kW per vehicle, instead of 350 to 1'000 kW at a fast-charging point. That lowers the connection capacity and the demand charge.

Is a battery storage worth it to relieve the grid connection of a logistics centre?

Yes, when the peak is short and the base load stays below the connection capacity. The storage discharges into the charging peak and keeps the grid draw below the agreed value. If the sustained charging load exceeds the connection capacity, for instance with fast charging for through traffic, you need both: storage and an expanded grid connection.

Planning e-truck charging infrastructure: grid connection, depot charging, storage

Q: How much grid connection capacity does an e-truck charging park need?

On paper, the sum of the charging capacities: 28 charging points at 400 kW DC add up to over 11 MW. In practice far less, because the vehicles never all charge at full power at the same time. A charging management system distributes the available power by route schedule and state of charge; at Hugelshofer Services the grid draw stays within the connection capacity agreed with the grid operator, without grid expansion to 11 MW.

Q: What subsidies are available for e-truck charging infrastructure in Switzerland?

Since 1 January 2026 the «in charge» sector programme run by ASTAG and the BFE supports road transport SMEs with fewer than 250 employees with up to 40 percent of the costs for feasibility study, grid connection, supply line and charging equipment, with an innovation bonus of up to 50 percent. Budget CHF 20 million, applications until the end of 2027, allocated in order of receipt. The PV system alongside it is supported through Pronovo's GREIV.

E-truck charging infrastructure for businesses is planned from the grid connection, not from the charger. 28 charging points at 400 kW would total over 11 MW; a charging management system coordinating PV production, route schedule and agreed connection capacity lowers the peak to the existing capacity, a battery storage buffers the rest. Hugelshofer Services charges 28 e-trucks with 40 percent solar electricity. The «in charge» programme of ASTAG and the BFE supports SMEs with up to 40 percent, grid connection included.

The grid connection defines the project28 charging points at 400 kW would add up to over 11 MW. Charging management and storage keep the grid draw within the agreed connection capacity.
Depot charging instead of fast chargingVehicles parked in the depot for 6 to 10 hours charge at 50 to 150 kW instead of 400 kW. That lowers the connection capacity and the demand charge.
40 percent solar electricity at Hugelshofer1'001 kWp PV, 28 charging points, 400 kW DC: 40 percent of the charging energy comes from the company's own roof, without grid expansion.
Subsidies up to 40 percentThe «in charge» programme run by ASTAG and the BFE has supported feasibility study, grid connection, supply line and charging equipment for SMEs since 2026.

Whoever plans e-truck charging infrastructure from the charger runs into the limit at the grid operator. The question is not how many charging points fit in the yard, but how much power the grid connection delivers, when the vehicles actually charge and how much of that the PV system and the storage can cover. This article works through the planning in that order: grid connection, charging strategy, storage, subsidies, with the figures from the charging park of Hugelshofer Services AG.

How much grid connection capacity does an e-truck charging park need?

The connection capacity is the first figure that defines a charging park project. On paper it is the sum of the charging capacities of all charging points; in practice it is far lower when charging is controlled.

The Hugelshofer example: 28 charging points at up to 400 kW DC would produce a theoretical peak of over 11 MW (28 × 400 kW) if all charged at full load simultaneously. A connection of that order means a dedicated transformer station on the medium-voltage grid, a grid connection application to the distribution grid operator and grid cost contributions whose amount depends on the expansion needed in the upstream grid. The VSE industry recommendation on grid connection governs the procedure (VSE, industry recommendation on grid connection); from 150 MVA Swissgrid would be responsible, with connection lead times of 3 to 10 years (Swissgrid, grid connection). For a logistics site that is out of the question, and it is not necessary either.

Because the 11 MW never occur. Not all 28 vehicles are at the charging point at the same time, not all are empty, and a 40-tonne truck takes the full 400 kW only in the lower state-of-charge range. The energy management system (EMS) distributes the available power according to three variables: current PV production, agreed connection capacity and the priority of each vehicle from the route planning. At Hugelshofer the grid draw thus stays within the connection capacity agreed with the grid operator; the expansion to over 11 MW was dropped (Ampere Dynamic project data; the contractually agreed connection capacity in kW is part of the customer’s contract and is not published here).

How large is the demand for charging hubs across Switzerland?

The study «Schnell-Ladehubs für E-LKWs in der Schweiz» (fast-charging hubs for e-trucks in Switzerland) by EBP, commissioned by BKW Smart Mobility, ASTAG, auto-schweiz and Swiss eMobility (November 2023), puts the demand by 2030 at 15 public fast-charging hubs with 180 charging points along the national roads: 125 charging points at 1'000 kW and 55 at 350 to 400 kW, investment CHF 150 to 175 million, charging demand of over 130 GWh per year. In January 2026 the Federal Roads Office FEDRO (ASTRA) launched the call for projects for around 30 sites at rest areas and heavy-vehicle inspection centres; the operators plan, finance and build on their own responsibility, ASTRA provides the connection up to the transformer station. For fleets that charge in their own depot, this changes nothing about the planning: the depot remains the main charging location.

Depot charging: why the charging strategy comes before the charging power

Depot charging means the vehicles charge where they are parked anyway, overnight or between two routes, at moderate power over several hours. For logistics companies with fixed routes that is the rule, fast charging the exception.

The arithmetic is straightforward. An e-truck with a 500 kWh battery that returns in the evening at 20 percent state of charge and has to be full by 5 a.m. needs 400 kWh in 9 hours: 45 kW of charging power. Twenty such vehicles need 900 kW overnight, not 8 MW. For comparison: the EBP study on the public fast-charging hubs reckons with 1’000 kW per charging point for recharging en route; in the depot a fraction of that is enough. The night hours are also the time when the site otherwise has hardly any load and when electricity costs the least under dynamic tariffs. Fast charging at 350 to 1’000 kW is needed only for vehicles that have to recharge between two routes during the day; at Hugelshofer those are the 400 kW charging points for the 90-minute charge of a 40-tonne truck.

For the demand charge the charging strategy is decisive: the grid operator bills the highest 15-minute average of the month. A charging park that charges uncontrolled during the day sets that peak; depot charging with charging management shifts it into the night and keeps it below the daytime production load. How the measurement window works and what a kilowatt of peak costs is explained in the article Peak shaving with battery storage.

Planning process: from load profile to the running system

Load profile and fleet plan

We evaluate the site's load profile at 15-minute resolution and lay the fleet's charging demand over it: vehicles, battery sizes, route times, idle times. From this follows the charging strategy: depot charging, intermediate charging, fast charging.

Connection capacity and grid connection application

The required connection capacity follows from the charging strategy and the PV yield. We check with the grid operator whether it fits within the existing connection, and otherwise submit the grid connection application before the first charger is ordered.

Subsidy application and permits

Subsidy applications («in charge» or KlG programme) before construction starts, GREIV registration for the PV system with Pronovo, building permit and installation notice to the grid operator.

Implementation and EMS commissioning

Installation of PV, storage and charging infrastructure with minimal disruption to operations. Commissioning of the EMS with charging strategies, prioritisation by route schedule and limitation to the agreed connection capacity.

Battery storage for grid relief: when does it replace grid expansion?

A battery storage at the charging park does one thing: it discharges into the charging peak and keeps the grid draw below the agreed connection capacity. Whether that pays off depends on the duration and frequency of the peak.

Short and frequent is the case for the storage: two vehicles charging simultaneously at midday for 45 minutes at 400 kW need 600 kWh; a storage with 500 kW of power and 600 kWh of capacity covers the peak above the connection capacity and recharges from the PV system in the afternoon. Sustained and high is the case for grid expansion: whoever wants to fast-charge through traffic at 1’000 kW all day cannot cover the energy from a storage that itself has to recharge through the same connection. Then both are needed; that is the case of the public hubs with 1’000 kW charging points from the EBP study, not the case of a depot. The comparison of the two investments is in the article Battery storage or grid expansion.

Charging infrastructure only

Connection capacity as the sum of the charging capacities, grid expansion under the VSE procedure required
Uncontrolled charging sets the monthly peak and the demand charge
The entire charging energy at 20 to 30 Rp./kWh from the grid
No buffer for simultaneous fast charging

Integrated system: PV, storage, charging management

Charging management keeps the grid draw within the agreed connection capacity
Depot charging at night, peak below the daytime load
Up to 40 percent of the charging energy from own PV at 8 to 12 Rp./kWh (Hugelshofer Services project data, Ampere Dynamic)
Storage buffers short peaks without grid expansion

Request a system design

0 % 40 %

Share of solar electricity in the charging energy (Hugelshofer Services, project data)

Practical example Hugelshofer Services: 28 charging points without grid expansion

Hugelshofer Services AG operates one of Europe’s largest e-truck fast-charging parks (as of 2024), realised by Ampere Dynamic together with the Hugelshofer Group and selected partners: 1’001 kWp PV system on the truck port and hall roofs, 28 charging points at 14 fast-charging stations, 400 kW DC per station, a dedicated transformer station for the medium-voltage connection.

The result: 40 percent of the total charging energy comes from the company’s own PV production, the remaining 60 percent the park draws evenly distributed within the agreed connection capacity (Ampere Dynamic project data). The grid expansion to the theoretical 11 MW was dropped (Ampere Dynamic project data). The project won the Swiss Logistics Award 2024. The full case study with the three system layers is in the article Hugelshofer charging park, the offering on the page Logistics electrification.

Subsidies for e-truck charging infrastructure

Two federal programmes support the electrification of commercial fleets; which one applies depends on the size of the company.

«in charge» sector programme (ASTAG and the Swiss Federal Office of Energy SFOE, BFE): Since 1 January 2026 road transport SMEs with fewer than 250 employees can submit applications. Up to 40 percent of the costs for feasibility study, grid connection, supply line and charging equipment are subsidised, with an innovation bonus of up to 45 or 50 percent respectively. Budget CHF 20 million based on Art. 6 of the Climate and Innovation Act, application phase until the end of 2027, payout until the end of 2030, allocation in order of receipt; the application must be submitted before construction starts (in charge, programme page; EnergieSchweiz, sector programme for e-truck charging infrastructure).

KlG programme for large companies: Companies with 250 or more employees that present a net-zero roadmap can claim up to 50 percent of the investment costs under the Climate and Innovation Act (KlG).

For the PV component, Pronovo’s GREIV applies from 100 kWp. The subsidy landscape at a glance: Subsidy guide 2026; the storage sizing: Commercial battery storage in Switzerland and Battery storage solution.