Engineering firm Actemium has completed the United Kingdom’s first publicly accessible charging hub designed specifically for battery-electric heavy goods vehicles (eHGVs), marking a milestone in efforts to decarbonise long-haul freight transport.
The new facility is located at the Moto Exeter service area on the M5 motorway in Devon and forms part of GRIDSERVE’s Electric Freightway programme, a nationwide initiative to build charging infrastructure for electric trucks.
The hub features four dedicated eHGV charging bays equipped with nine high-power ABB Terra chargers, delivering between 175 kilowatts and 350 kilowatts. The site has been designed with capacity for future expansion as demand for electric freight vehicles increases.
Actemium acted as principal contractor, delivering the project over a 15-week construction phase as part of a six-month turnkey programme. Its scope covered feasibility studies, detailed design, civil and electrical works, grid connection, commissioning and final handover. The build required highways-grade surfacing and complex civil engineering, while keeping the motorway service area fully operational throughout construction.
The Moto Exeter hub is the first site to be completed under the Electric Freightway scheme, which is backed by more than £100 million in consortium funding. Of that total, £62.7 million is provided by the UK government through the Department for Transport and Innovate UK.
Electric trucks have different operational needs from passenger cars, requiring higher charging power, longer dwell times and larger vehicle bays. The Exeter hub has been designed specifically to accommodate these requirements, supporting the early deployment of eHGVs on the UK’s motorway network.
Actemium said the project demonstrated how complex, high-power charging infrastructure can be delivered at live transport locations without disrupting public access, through detailed planning and close coordination with site operators.
In the UK, Actemium UK reported revenues of £102 million in 2024 and employs 635 people across 14 specialist engineering businesses. Globally, the Actemium network operates in more than 40 countries, generating around €4 billion in annual revenues.