Heavy-duty charging infrastructure has a different requirement from passenger EV charging: the location of the charger has to work within the economics and schedules of freight.
A new charging hub at MercaValencia near the Port of Valencia illustrates that model.
PragmaCharge and Prologis have begun operations at the facility. At full build-out, the site will have 50 high-power charging ports supported by a 4 MW grid connection across a 12,500-square-metre facility. Fourteen ports are operational at launch, with the remainder planned through a phased rollout.
The important element is not simply the number of chargers. It is where they have been placed.
Charging follows freight activity
MercaValencia is a major logistics platform with more than 500 daily truck movements. The new hub is positioned to serve regional distribution and port-linked freight routes, including routes connecting Valencia with Madrid, Castellón and Alicante.
Two transport operators are already using the facility for electric heavy-goods vehicles.
That gives the project a different operating profile from a conventional public charging rollout. Charging capacity is being integrated into established freight movements rather than added independently of them.
For fleet operators, this distinction matters.
A charging site is useful only if its location, available power and operating hours align with vehicle routes and delivery schedules.
The 4 MW connection is part of the infrastructure proposition
The project combines high-power charging with a secured 4 MW grid connection and dynamic charging management software. The site also provides dedicated heavy-truck parking and is supplied with renewable electricity.
This is closer to an energy-and-logistics infrastructure project than a conventional charging-station installation.
The facility is also being operated under PragmaCharge’s Electric Trucking-as-a-Service model, which combines charging infrastructure, software and operational support for fleet customers.
That model addresses another issue in heavy-duty electrification: fleet operators do not necessarily want to become infrastructure developers simply to electrify their vehicles.
Location, power and utilization have to work together
The MercaValencia project demonstrates why heavy-truck charging requires a different infrastructure planning framework.
A 4 MW connection is useful because there is freight demand nearby. The site has space for heavy vehicles because it is located within a logistics environment. Charging can be managed around actual fleet requirements because operators are already using the facility.
Those elements reinforce each other.
The project is also aligned with the Port Authority of Valencia’s plan to achieve carbon neutrality across its facilities by 2035.
The broader lesson for infrastructure developers is that heavy-duty charging may scale most effectively where transport demand, grid capacity, land availability and fleet utilization intersect.
For the next generation of electric truck infrastructure, the question may therefore be less about how many chargers can be installed and more about whether each charging hub is positioned within a functioning freight ecosystem.
