- Public charging hubs are critical for electric vehicles, but for working fleets, they often feel like a distress purchase.
- The real advantage comes from shared depot charging, located close to where vehicles operate, which lowers costs, increases control and ensures dependable access to power.
- For fleets, the true network exists behind the depot fence, and the challenge is simple to describe but hard to deliver: securing sufficient power in the most convenient locations so that busy vehicles charge where they park, load and rest.
This guest editor article was written by Chris Jackson, a UK fleet-decarbonisation champion focused on building the fleet charging network of shared sites, depots and workplaces. At GRIDSERVE, Chris led fleet charging strategy, roaming partnerships and managed consortium relationships across OEMs, hauliers and partners for the Electric Freightway eHGV consortium. He previously directed zero-emission fleet work at WSP and held senior fleet-electrification roles at Centrica.
Are shared charging depots a key part of future EV adoption?
While public charging networks will remain more expensive for structural reasons, depot and workplace charging operate under very different economics. Public hubs face high costs for grid connections, land, amenities and investor returns, all of which are reflected in the final tariff. In contrast, fleet depots and shared charging sites serve fewer users, have predictable dwell times and benefit from lower energy costs. For most operators, the majority of fleet energy will be drawn from home depots, shared depots or destination chargers close to operations. When operators know exactly who is arriving and when, there is no need to factor uncertainty into the price.
The best charging points for working vehicles are where they start and end the day: depots, warehouses or customer sites. These locations deliver the most energy for essential fleet assets and allow traffic flows, safety and operational planning to be designed around real vehicles rather than generic car park compromises. Securing power in convenient locations minimises downtime and reduces costs. Reservations are particularly effective because a guaranteed charging slot is often more valuable to operators than a higher peak output on an unpredictable public charger.
Even after installation, fleet chargers are often underutilised outside core hours. Across the UK, there is substantial idle capacity behind depot gates, with costs not yet fully recovered. Meanwhile, other operators struggle to find reliable charging near industrial estates and logistics corridors. A semi-public model – inviting local fleets, partners, or approved operators to use chargers during defined time windows – turns idle infrastructure into revenue without compromising operational priority.
Evidence of this approach is already visible. The Department for Transport’s Zero Emission HGV and Infrastructure Demonstrator (ZEHID) programme, including sites such as Maritime Zero, shows that shared depot charging is feasible. Operators such as First Bus and Stagecoach have successfully implemented shared bus depot charging, while shared freight and logistics depots like Welch’s Transport and Voltloader demonstrate both demand and operational viability.
UK policy increasingly favours high-quality shared depot charging rather than sheer numbers of chargers. Grants and regulations are now linked to uptime, power availability, safety and accessibility. This regulatory push aligns with what fleets value most: dependable, near-depot capacity that prioritises uptime over glamour.
The benefits for fleets are clear. Fewer and known users with predictable demand reduce financial risk. Chargers can be right-sized for actual duty cycles rather than marketing claims. Operational efficiency improves because vehicles can charge while loading, cleaning, undergoing handovers, or taking breaks, avoiding detours and dead miles. Semi-public sharing introduces revenue opportunities by allowing operators to host their own fleet first and invite others during off-peak periods, with straightforward billing and lower energy costs.
Operators can unlock the potential of shared depot networks by mapping available power, establishing standardised reservations, ensuring seamless access for approved eMSPs, and offering predictable tariffs aligned with operational patterns. Tracking bay availability, booking adherence and revenue per kilowatt-hour delivered ensures the network is optimised and scalable.
This approach does not replace public charging hubs, which remain essential for long-distance and ad-hoc needs. However, the day-to-day charging of working vehicles belongs at depots and operational sites. By carefully opening gates and sharing capacity where it makes sense, fleets can transform low-utilisation infrastructure into a second, semi-public network that is cheaper, closer and built around operational priorities. This is how the UK fleet charging network will scale: build the network where work happens and share it when it helps. Less queuing, more doing.
