Brussels, Belgium: Transfrigoroute EU is among the signatories to a letter to the European Commission about electrification in truck parking areas, arguing that plug-in stations for refrigerated trailers must be part of the new EU standards.
The letter was to the European Commission directorate general for transport, which is working on new European standards for safe and secure truck parking areas and widening the scope to zero-emission trucks and refrigerated trailers.
The co-signatories to the letter are concerned that the current needs of refrigerated trailers and the future needs of zero-emission trucks are not being taken into account.
“(Some) 95% of equipment used on refrigerated trailers in Europe are equipped with a plug but cannot charge or run on electricity during rest times, because of a lack of infrastructure,” says the letter. “The refrigerator can switch over from diesel operation to electric operation when connected to a 400V net when it is parked. Equipping all parking areas with access to electrical plug for electric cooling could save 69% CO2, 93% NOx and 96% of PM emissions per net operating hour. Further emissions savings would result as the share of renewables in the power mix increases.
“We ask all new parking areas and the ones undergoing upgrades that are requesting EU certification and EU funding, to install one socket per 10 parking spots for refrigerated trailers (22 kW)4.”
The letter also calls for charging and refueling infrastructure to be developed along motorways because in the future trucks will have to be electrified, either by the means of batteries or hydrogen fuel cells.
