The Hugelshofer charging park is one of Europe's largest e-truck fast-charging parks (as of 2024): 28 charging points with up to 400 kW of DC power, supplied by a 1'001 kWp PV system on the truck port roof. 40% of the total charging energy comes from own solar production; the energy management system distributes the charging currents in real time and made a grid expansion to over 11 MW unnecessary (Ampere Dynamic project data). Ampere Dynamic delivered the project with partners; it received the Swiss Logistics Award 2024.
Key Takeaways
10 min read
Key Takeaways
10 min read- One of Europe's largest e-truck charging parks (as of 2024): a 1'001 kWp PV system combined with 28 charging points and 400 kW DC fast charging for 40-tonne trucks at one site.
- 40% of the total charging energy comes from own solar production (Ampere Dynamic project data). The project proves that high-performance charging infrastructure works without massive grid expansion.
- Swiss Logistics Award 2024: recognition for innovation in sustainable logistics infrastructure, for one of Europe's largest e-truck charging parks (as of 2024).
- A replicable model: the three-layer architecture of rooftop PV, EMS and charging park transfers, in Ampere Dynamic's experience, to logistics businesses with 500 kWp of roof potential or more.
The starting point: Hugelshofer’s challenge
Hugelshofer Logistik AG is an established Swiss transport company. When the company began to electrify its heavy-duty fleet step by step, it ran into a challenge many logistics businesses know: electric trucks need a lot of electricity, and they need it within a tight time window.
A modern 40-tonne truck needs several hundred kilowatt-hours for a full charge. Whoever wants to charge 28 such vehicles at the same time is talking about a simultaneous load that pushes even mid-sized industrial sites to their limits. At 400 kW of DC fast charging per station, the theoretical peak load exceeds 11 MW (28 × 400 kW), a figure that would require massive and expensive grid expansion. For context: the EBP study on public fast-charging hubs for e-trucks reckons with 180 charging points across Switzerland by 2030 and a charging demand of over 130 GWh per year (ASTAG, EBP study on fast-charging hubs); a single depot with 28 points is in the same order of magnitude as one of those hubs.
The second challenge: the truck port of the Hugelshofer logistics centre has a large unshaded roof area that until then had gone unused for energy. The potential was obvious. The question was how to link solar production, grid capacity and charging management intelligently.
The solution: three integrated systems as one concept
Ampere Dynamic delivered the project together with selected partners, from the feasibility study to commissioning. The solution rests on three layers that only deliver the intended performance together.
Layer 1: rooftop PV (1’001 kWp). The solar power plant on the truck port roof is expected to produce around 1’001 MWh of electricity per year (Ampere Dynamic project data). This own production supplies the charging park directly during the day, reduces grid draw and forms the economic basis of the entire system.
Layer 2: load and charging management system (EMS). The specially developed energy management system coordinates the charging currents of all 28 stations in real time: it takes into account current PV production, available grid capacity and the drivers’ route planning. When more solar electricity is available, charging power is raised. When less capacity is available, the EMS distributes the load dynamically to the stations with the lowest priority.
Layer 3: charging park (28 charging points at 400 kW DC). 14 fast-charging stations with two charging points each allow 28 e-trucks to charge simultaneously. DC fast charging at up to 400 kW per station allows a full charge of a 40-tonne truck in around 90 minutes.
The decisive point: none of these systems works without the other two. Without the EMS, the simultaneous load of several 400 kW stations would destabilise the grid. Without PV, the economics of the system would collapse. And without the charging park there would be no sensible consumer for the solar energy produced.
More on the integrated planning of charging infrastructure and PV: Solar systems for logistics centres. Ampere Dynamic’s complete offering for fleet operators is described on the logistics electrification solution page.
Technical details: the solar power plant
The heart of the system is 2’314 solar modules on 3’526 m²: 1’283 m² on the building roof and 2’243 m² on the truck port (Ampere Dynamic project data). The total capacity is 1’001 kWp with a forecast annual production of around 1’001 MWh; the system is registered with Pronovo for the GREIV and feeds the surplus into the grid at the reference market price under the Energy Ordinance (EnV).
The truck port proved to be the ideal mounting location. The reasons:
- Unshaded large area: The truck port’s flat roof is open and clear of obstructing structures. The modules can be mounted in optimal orientation and without shading one another.
- Structural capacity: Modern industrial flat roofs are designed for snow load. The weight of the PV system is well below that. No structural reinforcement was necessary.
- Short cable runs: The charging park sits directly beneath the truck port roof. The proximity between PV system and consumers minimises DC cable losses and considerably simplifies the system architecture.
- Grid connection: A purpose-built transformer station secures the medium-voltage connection to cover peak loads outside solar production hours.
The load and charging management system
The EMS is the intelligent heart of the installation. It solves the fundamental problem of every large charging park: how do you charge many vehicles at once without overloading the grid and without giving up on route planning?
Hugelshofer’s system coordinates three inputs in real time: the solar power plant’s current PV production, the available grid capacity under the agreed connection tariff, and each vehicle’s charging priority based on route planning.
The result (Ampere Dynamic project data): 40% of the total charging energy comes from own PV production. The remaining 60% the vehicles draw from the grid, but evenly distributed and within the connection capacity agreed with the grid operator; metering follows the load profile metering under the Electricity Supply Ordinance (StromVV) Art. 8. A cost-intensive grid expansion to 11+ MW was not needed.
For logistics businesses planning their charging infrastructure, we recommend the guide Charging infrastructure for businesses.
What other logistics businesses can learn from Hugelshofer
The Hugelshofer project is not a one-off but a model. The three-layer architecture of rooftop PV, EMS and charging park transfers to any logistics business with sufficient roof area and a growing electric fleet.
Lesson 1: integrated planning from the start. Whoever builds the charging park first and retrofits the PV system loses the economic synergies. Grid connection, transformer capacity, PV design and EMS configuration must be aligned before the first ground-breaking.
Lesson 2: PV as the economic basis. A pure charging park without own generation is expensive to operate. The 40% solar electricity at Hugelshofer (Ampere Dynamic project data) measurably reduces operating costs and secures the economics as grid electricity prices rise.
Lesson 3: the EMS as the precondition for high-power charging. Without intelligent charging management, simultaneous 400 kW charging of many vehicles is not feasible on the grid, at least not without prohibitively expensive connection capacity. The EMS enables high charging power within existing grid capacity limits.
Lesson 4: phased expansion is possible. The infrastructure (cable routes, transformer station, basic EMS configuration) can be designed for more charging points from the start. Charging stations can then be added as the fleet grows.
A complete overview of the specifics of logistics centres is in the article Solar systems for logistics centres.
Subsidies for e-truck charging infrastructure
For logistics businesses planning similar projects, three subsidy programmes are available.
GREIV (the one-off payment) supports the PV component with up to 30% of the eligible investment costs. The subsidy applies regardless of company size and can be planned on.
The ASTAG sector programme is aimed at SMEs with fewer than 250 employees and supports e-truck charging infrastructure with up to 40% of the eligible costs. The programme runs until the end of 2027 (budget CHF 20 million). The application must be approved before you sign the purchase contracts for the main components.
KlG (Climate and Innovation Act): businesses with a net-zero roadmap can file their own application with the SFOE, whatever their size, and receive up to 50% of the eligible costs, but only for novel technologies and processes. Whether a charging park qualifies is assessed by the SFOE case by case. The ASTAG sector programme is itself based on the KlG.
A complete overview of all subsidy programmes is in the Subsidy Guide 2026.