Europe's Biggest Truck Charging Network Just Got Bigger

A €120M facility backs Europe's largest truck charging network as megawatt corridors and a new global standard reshape long-haul freight

14 May 2026

Europe's motorways carry roughly three-quarters of the continent's overland freight, almost all of it in diesel-powered trucks. That dependence is not going away overnight. But the infrastructure to challenge it is being built.

In May 2026, Milence, which operates what it calls Europe's largest public heavy-duty charging network, secured a €120m financing facility to expand its operations. By year-end the company plans to reach 50 operational hubs across eight countries, up from 34 today, all positioned along the trans-European transport network. More significant is what those hubs will run on: megawatt charging system technology, or MCS, capable of delivering up to 1.44MW per session and recharging a truck battery from 20% to 80% in 30 to 40 minutes, a window that happens to align neatly with EU-mandated driver rest stops.

The timing is not coincidental. In February 2026 the International Electrotechnical Commission published a global interoperability standard for MCS connectors, communications protocols and liquid-cooled cable systems. Without such a standard, the infrastructure risked repeating the compatibility failures that earlier European charging networks suffered, eroding the trust of fleet operators before they had even plugged in.

Still, two problems persist. Grid connections at motorway sites remain unreliable. Power capacity timelines vary enough between EU member states to frustrate any coherent investment plan. Meanwhile, the upfront cost of MCS-capable trucks puts them beyond easy reach for smaller hauliers, who represent a substantial share of European road freight.

It is also worth being clear about what megawatt charging does not do. Depot charging overnight, slower, cheaper, conducted through standard CCS connectors, will remain the operational backbone for most fleets. MCS adds something genuinely different: the ability to recharge mid-route, fast enough for long-haul corridors to become viable for battery-electric trucks for the first time.

Milence was co-founded by Daimler Truck and Volvo Group, both of which are advancing MCS-capable models toward series production this year. Capital, a ratified standard and active hubs on Europe's busiest freight routes are converging. The diesel truck's reign is not over. But the conditions for an orderly succession are, at last, taking shape.