First electric HGV travels through Channel Tunnel

A DAF New Generation XF has become the first electric heavy-goods vehicle (eHGV) to travel through the Channel Tunnel.

The journey was completed as part of a joint effort to advance low-carbon logistics by Kuehne+Nagel, LeShuttle Freight, Voltempo, and DAF Trucks.

The trip began at Kuehne+Nagel’s East Midlands Gateway depot in the UK where the truck was loaded with 12-tonnes of freight before being fully charged using the depot’s Voltempo HyperCharger – the UK’s first megawatt-scale charging system.

Formally opened on 15th January, the Kuehne+Nagel six-bay hub is capable of delivering charge rates of up to one megawatt (MW), or to dynamically allocate the 1MW capacity across six trucks at once.

Along the 1,700 km round-trip route to Kuehne+Nagel’s depot in Haiger (Germany), the two-person crew topped up at public charging hubs operated by Gridserve (UK), and Milence in Dunkirk (France) and Maasmechelen (Belgium), showcasing the growing accessibility of fast-charging infrastructure for long-haul electric freight.

The DAF New Generation XF provides a real-world range of up to 500 km (310 miles) on a single charge and supports DC charging up to 325kW, enabling rapid top-ups to make long-haul daily journeys of up to 1,000 km a reality.