LeShuttle Freight carried an electric heavy goods vehicle (eHGV) through the Channel Tunnel, the undersea route connecting England and France. The exercise was part of a joint exercise to advance low-carbon logistics across Europe. Partners in the venture, Kuehne+Nagel, LeShuttle Freight, Voltempo, and DAF Trucks, claimed success for the project.
Along the 1,700 km round-trip route, from East Midlands Gateway (England) to Kuehne+Nagel’s depot in Haiger (Germany), the two-person crew topped up at public charging hubs operated by Gridserve (UK), and Milence in Dunkirk (France) and Maasmechelen (Belgium), demonstrating fast-charging infrastructure for long-haul electric freight. The eHGV, DAF’s New Generation XF, recently awarded International Truck of the Year 2026, claims a real-world range of up to 500 km (310 miles) on a single charge and supports DC charging up to 325kW.
Kick-start the eHGV market
The journey began at Kuehne+Nagel’s East Midlands Gateway depot in the UK. The truck was loaded with twelve tonnes of cargo before being fully charged using the depot’s Voltempo HyperCharger – the UK’s first megawatt-scale charging system, which opened this month (15 January). The six-bay hub is capable of delivering charge rates of up to one megawatt, or dynamically allocate the 1MW capacity across six trucks at once.
“This is what [the UK government-funded] eFREIGHT 2030 was designed to enable, proving that electric HGVs can operate reliably in real-world conditions, including challenging cross-border routes,” said Simon Smith, CEO of Voltempo, the UK heavy-duty charging specialists. “Government support has helped kick-start the eHGV market. Voltempo is fully focused on lowering the total cost of ownership through high-power charging and smarter energy solutions. Electric freight isn’t a future ambition, it’s happening now.”
Green freight economic opportunities
The UK government claims, through a complicated funding package, to be investing up to £200m in the adoption of eHGV logistics. A number of projects are managed under the Zero Emission HGV and Infrastructure Demonstrator programme (ZEHID). Kuehne+Nagel, DAF and Voltempo, all partners in this Channel Tunnel exercise, are sharing their insights to help accelerate the shift to low-emission transport.
“We’re backing British business by cutting up to £120,000 off the cost of new electric trucks and investing £120 million to rollout zero‑emission lorries and the charging infrastructure needed to support them, boosting growth, UK manufacturing, and supporting jobs,” said Keir Mather, the Aviation, Maritime and Decarbonisation Minister, who appears to have corned about 60% of the project budget. “Our support has seen companies like Kuehne+Nagel get clean delivery trucks on the road and helped fund the launch of the first electric lorry across the Channel Tunnel, showcasing the massive trading and economic opportunities that can be delivered through green freight.”
The industry representative association, Logistics UK, welcomed the initiative. “By running an electric HGV from the key logistics hub at East Midlands Gateway, through the Channel Tunnel and on into continental Europe, this group has demonstrated that range anxiety will soon be a thing of the past for eHGVs,” said Ben Fletcher, their Chief Executive. “The Short Straits crossing is a critical route for the UK economy and this landmark journey, of 1700 km across five countries, shows how eHGVs can be deployed on the UK’s key supply routes without sacrificing service levels or operational viability.”