The transition to electric long-haul trucking facilitated by Megawatt Charging Systems (MCS) is essential for the efficient decarbonization of the logistics transport sector. Despite the significant technological progress made, vital challenges for full adoption and scaling of the MCS systems are still to overcome. Addressing the latter though targeted research and innovation piloting activities will be crucial for realizing the full potential of MCS technology towards a significant leap not only in electrifying the commercial transport but for the achievement of broader environmental goals of the Paris Agreement, EU Green Deal and Fitfor55 package of 90% reduction of the emissions by 2040. In response to the challenges, MACBETH—MULTIPOINT MEGAWATT CHARGING FOR BATTERY ELECTRIC TRUCK HUBS aims to pilot and showcase user-centric MCS charging hubs combined with tools that can facilitate the rapid and mass deployment and scale up of such systems in Europe. To address many of technical, social and economic challenges of mass deployment of megawatt chargers MACBETH intends to build two demonstration sites, in Nordics and Benelux area of Europe with the intention to cover various geographic contexts, operational conditions and scenarios, users’ needs, and business cases and provide valuable experiences and learnings for various industrial, research and policies stakeholders for future deployments. With a strong focus on its industrial cluster, MACBETH contributes to the real-world demonstration of charging infrastructure and service offerings for regional and long-haul electric trucks along TEN-T corridors, logistic terminals, and depots covering multiple countries and it is set to deliver system-level multipoint MCS hub concept at Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 8 by the end of the project.

The MAGPIE consortium, consisting of 4 ports (Lighthouse Port of Rotterdam, Fellow ports DeltaPort (inland), Port of Sines and HAROPA), 9 research institutes and universities, 32 private companies and 4 other institutes, forms a unique collaboration addressing the missing link between green energy supply and green energy use in port-related transport and the implementation of digitisation, automation, and autonomy to increase transport efficiency. MAGPIE accelerates the introduction of green energy carriers (batteries, hydrogen, ammonia, BioLNG and methanol) combined with realisation of logistic optimisation in ports through automation and autonomous operations. The main objective of MAGPIE is to demonstrate technical, operational, and procedural energy supply and digital solutions in a living lab environment to stimulate green, smart, and integrated multimodal transport and ensure roll out through the European Green Port of the Future Master Plan and dissemination and exploitation activities. A living lab approach is applied in which technological and non-technological innovations are developed or demonstrated. Innovations demonstrated are: On-site BioLNG production; Smart Energy Systems; Shore power peak shaving; Port digital twin (GHG tooling and energy matching); Ammonia bunkering; Offshore charging buoy; Autonomous e-barge and transhipment; Green energy container for inland shipping; Hybrid shunting locomotive; Green connected trucking; Spreading of road traffic; Non-technological innovations to increase the use of green energy. Demonstrators will lead into the Master Plan for the European Green including a roadmap and handbook for implementation. To increase the reach and exploitation of the project results, stakeholders will be in the project through stakeholder consultation groups, targeted communication and dissemination activities. Technical collaborations will be set up with other actions to multiply the results of MAGPIE and of the other actions.