Can Batteries Haul Freight Across a Continent?

A litre of diesel stores about 10 kWh of chemical energy, roughly 12 kWh per kilogram, but a truck engine turns well under half of it into motion. A battery pack stores around 0.15–0.2 kWh per kilogram today and delivers about 90% of it to the wheels. Per kilogram of useful energy, diesel still wins by roughly a factor of 30 (Derived). That gap is why battery trucks are heavier. It is also less than half the raw factor of about 70, and it is partly offset because an electric truck carries no engine, gearbox or exhaust treatment.

What matters for a business is not energy density in the abstract but the weight of the pack a real route needs. At one kilowatt-hour per kilometre, 500 km needs about 550 kWh in the pack once you keep a reserve, about 3.5 tonnes at today’s pack densities (Derived). For many loads, trailers fill up by volume before they reach the weight limit, so that extra mass costs nothing. For dense loads such as steel, gravel or beverages, it costs payload, which is why European lawmakers have backed extra weight allowances for zero-emission trucks.

The truck does not need to carry a continent’s worth of energy

A continent-spanning journey is a sequence of driving legs. At an assumed 80 km/h, Europe’s 4.5-hour driving interval covers 360 km. At 1 kWh/km, replacing that energy during a 45-minute break requires an average 480 kW into the battery. A charger delivering 85% of its nameplate rating therefore needs about 565 kW; a 1 MW charger takes about 25 minutes. These are energy calculations, not a promise about every stop. Queues, a cold battery, charging taper and a detour can consume the remaining margin. The break rules also allow a split break, so not every legal schedule provides one uninterrupted 45-minute charging window. European Commission driving and rest rules

Carrying a larger pack is one way to cover uncertain charging, but it raises the purchase bill and the mass hauled all day. A truck returning to a depot can instead use a smaller pack and predictable overnight power. A highway tractor needs dependable public charging at the right places. The engineering problem changes with the route, even when the battery chemistry stays the same. Daimler’s eActros 600 has a 621 kWh nominal pack and has been tested across Europe at 40 tonnes, but those manufacturer tests do not represent every fleet’s winter, terrain or delivery schedule. Daimler’s vehicle specifications and testing

Charging requirements are Derived under stated assumptions. Legal rest requires the driver to be free of work; plugging in and other duties cannot automatically be counted as rest.

The Megawatt Charging System, a standard plug capable of more than one megawatt, delivered its first public charging sessions in Europe in August 2025 and North America in March 2026. Milence, a joint venture of Daimler Truck, the Traton Group and Volvo, plans around 1,700 high-power charging points in Europe by 2030, and EU rules require truck charging every 60 km along the core highway network by the same year. A 2021 ICCT study found that battery-electric tractor-trailers could reach cost parity with diesel this decade in all seven large European markets it examined, without extra subsidy, as long as charging is available at reasonable prices.

The United States has the trucks but not yet the conditions: diesel is cheaper than in Europe, public megawatt charging has barely begun, utility connections for depots can take years, and California’s truck sales mandate, the strongest policy push, lost its federal waiver in 2025. Its 0.3% share reflects those conditions, not the technology.

China proves deployment; long haul needs its own evidence

The IEA reports a 28% electric share of Chinese heavy freight truck sales in 2025, with much deployment on predictable industrial routes. It reports about 1.5% for Europe’s heavy freight segment, while ACEA reports 4.2% electrically chargeable registrations across EU trucks above 3.5 tonnes. The geographies, weight classes and powertrain categories differ. China’s rapid adoption is strong evidence that many freight duties can be electrified; it does not mean 28% of transcontinental trucking is already electric. IEA Global EV Outlook 2026; ACEA’s full-year 2025 registrations

The running-cost advantage has a threshold. With the calculator’s European assumptions, diesel costs $54 per 100 km and the electric truck uses 100 kWh. Before charging losses, electricity stops being cheaper above $0.54/kWh. At 90% charging efficiency, that threshold falls to about $0.49/kWh at the meter. Capital repayment, charger fees, grid demand charges, maintenance and lost payload then decide total cost. A cheap depot tariff and an expensive highway tariff can produce different answers for the same truck. The most useful fleet metric is cost per delivered tonne-kilometre, including downtime.

Price thresholds are Derived, not current tariff quotes. The calculator compares energy costs; it does not calculate total ownership cost, charger queues or battery-swapping operations.

Who is building what

Truck makers, charging networks and battery-swap operators. Search the record, or filter by role.

A manufacturer’s quoted range assumes favourable conditions. Fleet operators should judge trucks by kilometres driven per working day, charging downtime and cost per tonne-kilometre over a year.

Four numbers to watch

First, the battery-electric share of heavy truck sales outside China, especially in the heaviest class. Second, the price per kilowatt-hour at public megawatt chargers compared with depot charging. Third, the number of megawatt charging points in operation, not announced, along major freight corridors. Fourth, pack energy density in commercial trucks, which sets how much payload a battery truck gives up on dense loads.