IN Brief:
- Four overhead charging bays at Slough share one 600 kW Kempower power unit.
- Individual charging outlets are rated up to 160 kW, but the four maximum outputs cannot be delivered simultaneously.
- Bidfood is assessing possible future supplier access; no public charging service has been announced.
Bidfood has opened four overhead charging bays for electric heavy goods vehicles at its Slough depot, using a gantry to keep charging equipment clear of existing parking and loading space. Developed with Erinion, part of Scania Group, and charging manufacturer Kempower, the installation was unveiled on 20 October. Two electric trucks are operating at the site; the number of bays should not be confused with the number of vehicles already electrified.
Four Kempower Control Units are suspended on the cantilevered structure, with Cable Arms bringing connectors within reach of trucks parked below. They draw electricity from a single 600 kW Kempower Power Unit, which distributes available power dynamically between vehicles connected at any given time. Each charging outlet is rated at up to 160 kW, although the combined 640 kW outlet maximum exceeds the power unit’s rating. With all four outlets in use, each cannot deliver 160 kW simultaneously; actual output depends on system allocation and vehicle demand.
Kempower describes a typical loading stop of 45 minutes to two hours as an opportunity to add energy without arranging a separate charging visit. The quantity transferred in that interval depends on battery state of charge, vehicle charging characteristics, the number of trucks connected and the shared power allocation. A 160 kW dispenser rating is therefore not a measurement of energy delivered in every 45-minute stop. No site-wide figures for kilowatt-hours delivered, charging utilisation or savings in vehicle downtime have been disclosed.
Erinion designed and delivered the infrastructure with support from the UK Government’s Depot Charging Scheme. Bidfood says the gantry was installed without losing a parking bay or interrupting normal depot operations. That physical constraint is material at established distribution centres: floor-mounted cabinets and fixed cable routes can compete with trailer manoeuvring space, access lanes and pedestrian routes. Suspending the charging points puts the electrical connection above the bay while allowing a driver to plug in once a truck is stationary.
A Renault Trucks 18-tonne electric vehicle was displayed at the opening. Kempower says two electric trucks are currently in use, whereas the four installed bays provide more connections than the initial fleet requires. This gives the depot scope to accommodate another vehicle or concurrent charging sessions as demand changes, but no further vehicle order or dates for rollouts at other Bidfood centres have been confirmed. Capacity on the electrical side would still need to be assessed as vehicle numbers increased.
Slough is Bidfood’s headquarters and a distribution location serving Greater London and the Thames Valley. Across Britain the group operates more than 1,200 trucks, a fleet covering different depot layouts and delivery patterns. Electrifying a vehicle elsewhere in that network would require a route and charging assessment specific to the site; the Slough installation is not evidence that the entire fleet can be converted at the same cost or on the same timetable. Bidfood has not published a network-wide fleet replacement schedule.
Charging during a loading stop links electricity demand directly to vehicle turnaround. A returning truck can occupy its allocated bay while goods are loaded for the next journey, but the charging period cannot run beyond the planned departure. Depot operators must account for connector reach, safe cable movement, driver access and competing demands for bays. When several vehicles are charging, the allocation made by the common power unit becomes another variable in departure planning, alongside load readiness and route length.
Bidfood’s wider emissions objective is to reduce its absolute carbon emissions by at least 90% by 2045, according to Kempower. The Slough equipment establishes infrastructure for replacing some diesel operation, not a quantified emissions saving in itself. Actual outcomes will depend on kilometres driven electrically, vehicle energy consumption, grid electricity and whether the electric trucks substitute for existing diesel deliveries. Neither partner has presented comparable before-and-after energy, carbon or operating-cost measurements for the site.
The gantry is described as modular, leaving provision to add charging positions as the fleet changes. More connectors would not automatically mean proportionately more available power: electrical supply, power-unit configuration, vehicle dwell times and the layout of working bays would all need review. Expansion decisions therefore involve the site’s grid connection and loading pattern as well as the ease of attaching further equipment to the structure.
Bidfood is considering whether vehicles operated by inbound suppliers might eventually use the charging points. The possibility would make the depot’s electrical capacity available to trucks already attending for deliveries or collections, potentially reducing journeys to off-site chargers. It is not yet a shared charging service. No public charging tariff, booking procedure, priority rule or timetable has been established for vehicles belonging to third parties.
At Slough, four overhead outlets have been commissioned, two electric trucks are in service and a single 600 kW unit controls the available charging power. The installation provides an operating example of how HGV charging can be fitted into an established loading area while preserving parking capacity. Any expansion to visiting suppliers or other depots will depend on utilisation, electrical headroom and the practical demands of vehicle dispatch.
