STRABAG Takes on 25 Sites in Germany’s Electric Truck Charging Network
Germany’s emerging electric truck charging network is beginning to move from transport policy into civil engineering, with STRABAG preparing to build 140 charging points across 25 motorway rest areas in the south and west of the country.
The construction group is working with charging infrastructure specialist eLoaded and operator R:loaded on Lot 4 of Autobahn GmbH’s national programme for battery-electric heavy goods vehicles. STRABAG will handle construction, eLoaded will provide infrastructure planning and supply expertise, while R:loaded is due to operate and manage the sites until mid-2034.
The 25 locations are all unserviced motorway rest areas, making the work considerably more than an exercise in installing chargers. High-power truck charging requires electrical connections capable of supporting loads measured in megawatts, together with transformers, switchgear, cabling, foundations, parking layouts and control systems capable of operating reliably beside one of Europe’s busiest road networks.
At the upper end of the specification will be Megawatt Charging System technology, with STRABAG stating that charging power of up to 2,500 kW will be available.
Briefing
- STRABAG, eLoaded and R:loaded have secured Lot 4 of Germany’s national motorway electric truck charging programme.
- The package covers 25 unserviced motorway rest areas in southern and western Germany.
- A total of 140 charging points are planned across the 25 locations.
- Megawatt Charging System equipment will support charging at up to 2,500 kW.
- STRABAG’s Lot 4 programme is scheduled for completion in 2030.
Building Infrastructure Around the Driving Day
The wider programme has been designed around the operating patterns of road freight rather than treating charging as an extension of the passenger-car network.
Autobahn GmbH says the national truck charging concept is intended to place infrastructure where drivers already take statutory driving breaks and rest periods. After no more than 4.5 hours behind the wheel, drivers are required to take a 45-minute break, creating a natural window in which sufficiently powerful charging equipment can replenish a truck battery without necessarily adding a separate charging stop to the journey.
The first phase covering 124 unserviced motorway rest areas was awarded in five lots in June 2026. According to Autobahn GmbH, those sites will provide 836 charging points: 447 MCS points intended for intermediate charging, 157 CCS400 points for intermediate charging and 232 lower-powered CCS100 points intended primarily for overnight charging.
A vehicle stopping for its mandatory driver break has a relatively short opportunity to take on energy and therefore benefits from very high charging power. A truck parked for a longer rest period can use lower-power equipment without imposing the same instantaneous load on the electricity network.
Megawatts at the Motorway
STRABAG says the fastest systems within its package will provide charging at up to 2.5 MW. At that level, the electrical infrastructure behind the charger becomes a substantial part of the project. Even a small number of trucks charging simultaneously can create multi-megawatt demand at a motorway rest area, bringing grid connections, substations, transformers and distribution equipment into the engineering alongside the charging hardware itself.
The national programme is being designed around both MCS and the established Combined Charging System. Autobahn GmbH’s longer-term concept currently envisages around 351 motorway locations, comprising 227 serviced and 124 unserviced rest areas, with approximately 1,800 MCS and 2,400 CCS charging points.
Work on the second part of that network is already progressing. In September 2026, Autobahn GmbH said it was preparing the procurement process for charging infrastructure at approximately 230 serviced motorway rest areas.
Germany is consequently building two related layers of motorway charging infrastructure. Its Deutschlandnetz programme is adding high-power passenger-car charging, while the truck programme is introducing infrastructure designed around the considerably greater energy requirements and physical dimensions of heavy commercial vehicles.
Recently commissioned Deutschlandnetz passenger-car sites typically provide charging at up to 400 kW. At Wiesenholz Ost and West on the A13 near Dresden, for example, Autobahn GmbH opened twelve 400 kW charging points in September. A 2.5 MW truck charger has more than six times that maximum power available at a single connection.
Construction Becomes Part of the Charging Business
Charging networks require many of the disciplines already familiar to major civil engineering contractors: site preparation, drainage, foundations, utility coordination, electrical infrastructure, traffic management and construction alongside operating transport networks. The finished asset combines those works with power electronics, software, communications and energy management.
For STRABAG, that puts conventional infrastructure construction inside an emerging electrical transport market. The company is responsible for constructing the charging points, while eLoaded brings experience in planning and supplying the infrastructure systems. R:loaded will take responsibility for operating and managing the sites until the middle of 2034, with STRABAG’s 25-site package scheduled for completion by 2030.
A motorway charging site has to work as both an energy asset and a transport asset. Vehicles need to enter, manoeuvre, charge and return to the motorway without disrupting established rest-area operations, while the electrical system must provide sufficient capacity and equipment availability. Neither side can compensate for a poorly designed site.
A Network Built for Trucks
The scale of Germany’s programme provides some indication of the infrastructure required if battery-electric trucks are to become practical for long-distance freight rather than predominantly depot-based operations.
The federal concept ultimately covers roughly 350 motorway locations. The 124 unserviced sites represent the first large procurement phase, while the serviced rest areas will extend that coverage substantially. Autobahn GmbH describes the network as one of Europe’s largest truck fast-charging developments.
Autobahn GmbH also plans for charging locations to appear in navigation, fleet-management and charging applications, with real-time information covering availability, charging power and reservations. Drivers will be able to reserve charging spaces or arrive without a reservation, while access is intended through charging cards, apps or conventional card payment.
The planned system includes a “bring your own power” model under which fleet operators will be able to use their own electricity contracts across participating charging locations. For freight operators, those details sit alongside charging power and charger numbers as practical measures of network capacity. A theoretical 2.5 MW connection is of limited value if a vehicle cannot reliably find an available charging bay within its driving schedule.
From Chargers to Energy Infrastructure
Traditional motorway rest areas were principally places to park vehicles and provide facilities for drivers. Electric freight turns some of them into substantial energy nodes, requiring space, electrical capacity and construction alongside coordination between road operators, grid infrastructure, charging technology, vehicle manufacturers and fleet operators.
As electric truck numbers increase, the capacity of the connection behind the charging equipment may become as important as the number of charging bays visible from the motorway. STRABAG’s role in Lot 4 places a major construction contractor directly inside that process, with its 25 sites providing an early large-scale test of how megawatt charging can be incorporated into working motorway infrastructure.
Germany’s electric truck network is adding a new layer of power infrastructure to the motorway itself.
Key Industry Questions
- What is the Megawatt Charging System? MCS is a high-power DC charging system developed for heavy commercial vehicles with large batteries and limited charging windows. It is intended to deliver substantially higher charging power than conventional passenger-car fast charging.
- How powerful will the STRABAG charging equipment be? STRABAG says the highest-performance MCS equipment within the project will support charging at up to 2,500 kW, or 2.5 MW.
- How many charging points will STRABAG and its partners build? Lot 4 covers 140 charging points distributed across 25 unserviced motorway rest areas in southern and western Germany.
- Why are different charging powers required for electric trucks? Truck operating patterns vary. Vehicles taking short statutory driving breaks require rapid energy transfer, while trucks parked overnight can charge more slowly. Germany’s programme therefore combines MCS with different classes of CCS charging.
- How large is Germany’s motorway truck charging programme? The current national concept covers approximately 350 motorway locations and ultimately envisages around 1,800 MCS and 2,400 CCS charging points.
- How many charging points are included at the first 124 unserviced motorway sites? Autobahn GmbH’s official award announcement specifies 836 charging points, including 447 MCS points and 389 CCS points.
- Who is responsible for the STRABAG sites? STRABAG will undertake construction, eLoaded will contribute infrastructure planning and supply expertise, and R:loaded will operate and manage the sites until mid-2034.
- When will the STRABAG package be completed? Lot 4 is scheduled for completion in 2030.
Strategic Takeaways
- Heavy-truck charging is developing into a substantial energy-infrastructure construction market rather than simply an extension of passenger EV charging.
- MCS introduces multi-megawatt electrical demand into motorway rest areas, increasing the importance of grid connections and electrical distribution alongside conventional civil works.
- Germany is matching charging power to vehicle dwell time, using MCS for short intermediate stops and lower-powered CCS equipment for longer parking periods.
- Charging availability, reservations and fleet integration will influence the practical capacity of the network alongside installed charger numbers.
- Major civil engineering contractors have a growing role where transport infrastructure and electricity infrastructure meet.
