UK Transport Hits Net‑Zero Milestone with EV Hubs & Zero‑Emission Fleets

Welcome to Net Zero News, your daily briefing on the UK’s transition to a low‑carbon future.

The UK transport sector has made notable strides in net‑zero progress with several groundbreaking developments in recent months, spanning heavy‑goods vehicle charging infrastructure, emissions‑free bus fleets and hydrogen rail trials.

A landmark electric vehicle (EV) charging hub is now under construction at the Port of Tilbury in Essex. Fleete, a specialist in fleet charging solutions, is building a 5 megawatt shared commercial charging facility. The hub will host 16 rapid chargers 12 ultra‑fast units capable of up to 360 kW and 4 using a megawatt charging system designed to serve electric heavy‑goods vehicles (HGVs) simultaneously. This scheme is backed by £1 million in seed capital funding from the government’s Thames Freeport programme and is scheduled for completion by December 2025. The hub is expected to catalyse green logistics, improve local air quality and reinforce the Port’s position as a low‑emission freight core.

In another demonstration of progress, Royal Mail has introduced its first eight electric HGVs. Operating from the Midlands and North West parcel hubs, these DAF XD 350E 42‑tonne vehicles use high‑performance chargers that can add 60 miles of range in under 15 minutes. The eHGVs are part of the Electric Freightway consortium and the wider ZEHID programme, backed by up to £200 million in government funding. This step alone will avoid around one thousand tonnes of carbon annually.

Meanwhile, the ZENFreight consortium has taken its demonstrator to the next level: the first electric HGV is now deployed in active service from DFDS’s Sandhills Business Park depot in Liverpool. This Volvo FM Electric truck operates a closed‑loop route between a Merseyside fulfilment centre and the port. The depot is also equipped with four 360 kWh charging bays, enabling full recharge in just two hours and three to four delivery cycles per day.

The push for zero‑emission buses continues apace in London. Transport for London (TfL) now operates over 2,000 zero‑emission buses around one‑fifth of its fleet. In 2016, only 30 buses were zero‑emission. TfL aims to complete the transition to an all zero‑emission bus fleet by 2030, which would save an estimated five million tonnes of carbon over the next two decades.

Charging infrastructure across the UK also continues rapid expansion. In the first half of 2025, more than 8,600 new public charge points were installed, raising the total to over 82,000 across about 40,500 locations. The number of ultra‑rapid devices (150 kW+) grew by approximately 23%, to around 8,600 units now outnumbering rapid devices. Growth in hub installations is particularly notable, with 136 new charging hubs added, bringing the total to 673 nationwide.

These deployments follow a growing base in 2024: by June that year, the UK had exceeded 64,000 public charging devices, including a nearly 50% increase in 50 kW+ rapid and ultra‑rapid chargers and a 114% surge in 150 kW+ units across all regions.

Policy frameworks are evolving to match infrastructure investments. The Zemo Partnership recently published “Decarbonising UK Road Transport: Map of Missing Policies,” offering a multi‑stakeholder informed blueprint for accelerating the transition across buses, coaches, vans, cars and commercial vehicles. The report highlights gaps in policy and proposes an integrated, systems‑wide approach to delivering net‑zero transport.

Supporting future planning, the Electric Vehicle Energy Taskforce’s “Charging the Future: Drivers for Success 2035” report outlines that depot‑based fleet charging demand will rise substantially from just over 2 TWh in 2025 to approximately 5 TWh by 2035, necessitating around 200,000 depot charge‑points under central market conditions.

What this means:
These developments reflect a bold trajectory toward net‑zero transport in the UK, driven by public‑private partnerships, innovation and strategic infrastructure investment. The Port of Tilbury hub positions freight corridors for emissions‑free logistics, while eHGV deployments by Royal Mail and the ZENFreight consortium validate real‑world operations for battery electric commercial vehicles. London’s expanding zero‑emission bus fleet signals urban transport intent, and the robust expansion of public charging infrastructure especially ultra‑rapid hubs addresses range anxiety and operational practicality.

Yet, infrastructure alone isn’t sufficient. Comprehensive policy frameworks, as proposed by Zemo Partnership, are essential to coordinate across sub‑sectors and guide investment. Equally, forward‑looking analysis, such as depot charging projections, will be central to ensuring supply keeps pace with demand.

Collectively, these efforts underscore a strategic alignment between infrastructure, fleet adoption and policy, building a solid foundation for the UK’s low‑carbon transport future.

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