FRYTE, TRATON, and MAN Are Testing a Bookable Charging Infrastructure for Electric Trucks

The electrification of road freight transport is considered one of the most important building blocks for more climate-friendly logistics. However, in addition to range and charging capacity, the availability of charging infrastructure at the right time is increasingly becoming a key focus. To address this, FRYTE Mobility, TRATON Charging Solutions, and MAN Charge & Go have launched a new pilot project.

At MAN’s locations in Munich, Dachau, and Nuremberg, the partners are testing the targeted reservation of charging points for electric trucks for the first time. The goal is to integrate charging processes directly into existing transport and delivery workflows, thereby providing logistics companies with greater planning certainty.

Charging Points Become Part of Transportation Planning

As part of the research pilot, selected freight forwarders can reserve their charging slots in advance via the FRYTE Mobility platform. The reservations are directly aligned with the respective transport and delivery times.

Four transportation service providers are participating in the pilot phase:

• Kloiber
• Johann Dettendorfer Spedition
• Jan de Rijk Logistics
• Schachinger Logistik

Predictable availability of charging infrastructure can be crucial, especially for plant-to-plant transport and tightly scheduled supply chains. While a diesel truck can be refueled in just a few minutes, charging times for electric commercial vehicles must be planned well in advance. A lack of planning certainty can quickly lead to delays throughout the entire supply chain.

Technical Integration via the FRYTE Platform

The technical foundation of the project is the integration of TRATON Charging Solutions’ charging infrastructure into the FRYTE platform via the standardized OCPI interface. This not only enables the management of reservations but also allows for the digital mapping of location-specific rules. These include, among other things, operating hours, available charging slots, and flexibility and prioritization rules for individual bookings.

For the participating logistics companies, this creates a seamless digital process—from transport planning through reservation to the actual use of the charging infrastructure.

MAN Charge & Go handles authentication and billing

The MAN Charge & Go charging solution is used to access the reserved charging points. Participating freight forwarders receive charging cards that drivers can use to activate their booked charging sessions directly on-site.

In addition to authentication, the system also handles billing for the energy charged. This combines reservation, access, and payment into a single integrated process.

A key building block for scaling up e-trucks

The project partners view the reservation of charging points as an important step toward the economical use of electric commercial vehicles.

Predictable charging infrastructure is a prerequisite for the reliable deployment of electric trucks in industrial supply transport

Maximilian Zähringer, CEO of FRYTE Mobility

Petra Sundström, Managing Director of TRATON Charging Solutions, also highlights the importance of interoperable systems. She notes that only by linking charging infrastructure with digital booking platforms can a bookable service be created that meets the requirements of modern fleets.

Michael Zehmisch, Head of eSolutions Development at MAN Transport Solutions, emphasizes user-friendliness in particular. In the future, drivers will be able to book charging slots, authenticate themselves on-site, and complete the charging process through a unified workflow.

The Future of Charging Infrastructure Could Be Bookable

The pilot project exemplifies that the electrification of freight transport goes far beyond simply providing additional charging points. In the future, the key factor will be how intelligently this infrastructure is integrated into operational logistics processes.

Similar to time slots for deliveries or slots at ports, bookable charging points could become an integral part of transport planning in the future. For freight forwarders, this means greater planning certainty; for operators, it means better utilization of their infrastructure; and for the industry as a whole, it represents another step toward the economically viable deployment of electric commercial vehicles.

The collaboration between FRYTE Mobility, TRATON Charging Solutions, and MAN Charge & Go thus provides practical insight into the next stage of development for e-mobility in heavy-duty transport.