How to make e-truck charging more affordable. What is the electricity roaming model

The German research project BANULA has started a roadshow aimed at proving how non-discriminatory charging for heavy-duty electric vehicles can work in the future. At the Vector campus located in Stuttgart, an electric truck was charged using the electricity roaming model, an approach that separates electricity procurement from charging infrastructure operation in terms of cost.

More into details, for the charging process, Vector deployed its own charging and load management system vCharM, which enables dynamic, grid-friendly charging. Combined with an external billing system, this setup provides a blueprint for companies aiming to use their infrastructure more intelligently, for example, by integrating solar power from their own depot, offering public charging for third-party e-trucks, or allowing employees to charge company cars via their private electricity contracts.

Another model for e-truck charging

In the energy roaming model, the provision of charging infrastructure is decoupled from the electricity supply contract. Infrastructure operators make their charging points available for a fee, while users bring their own electricity tariff to any of these points. The energy settlement takes place within a virtual balancing area, ensuring that electricity volumes are clearly allocated and transparently billed, without central roaming platforms or redundant interfaces. This reduces complexity and opens up new opportunities for grid-oriented optimization.

The underlying research project BANULA (Creating Accessible and User-Friendly Charging Options), coordinated by Fraunhofer IAO, aims to make non-discriminatory charging infrastructure available across Germany. The state of Baden-Württemberg supports the rollout of a public truck charging network in the regional road system, with clear requirements such as a high share of PV integration and user-friendly billing models. The successful implementation at Vector demonstrates how the evaluation criteria of the new BASE BW funding guideline can already be technically fulfilled today.