ABB and Oreve to build 12 electric truck charging sites in France

ABB E-mobility and French charging operator Oreve will build 12 new high-power charging sites along France's major freight corridors, adding roughly 100 charging points and around 18 MW of installed capacity by the end of 2028.

For road freight operators running electric trucks across France, that matters. Charging density on trunk routes remains one of the hard constraints on fleet electrification, and this expansion puts new capacity exactly where trucks actually drive.

The two companies are not starting from zero. They have partnered for three years and already run six charging sites, including Bourg-de-Péage, Vénissieux and Pardies. The new agreement scales that footprint fourfold in site count.

What equipment goes in, and when?

The buildout is phased. The first locations will use ABB E-mobility's A400 chargers, which distribute up to 400 kW of power between two charging points. From early 2027, the rollout adds the M-Series modular charging system.

The M-Series is the interesting piece for freight. Operators can increase charging capacity as demand grows without ripping out the underlying infrastructure — ABB says the system supports hubs of up to 1.2 MW. It also handles both Combined Charging System (CCS) and Megawatt Charging System (MCS) technology, with the first MCS-capable installation under the expanded partnership planned for 2027.

Under the agreement, ABB E-mobility supplies the charging equipment, cloud-based management technology and technical support services.

Passenger vehicles get extra charging capacity too, but the project's stated purpose is supporting the growing use of electric trucks in road freight transport.

How does this fit France's national plan?

The investment lands as France builds out heavy-duty vehicle charging at national scale. The country's road-network charging plan targets roughly 8,000 truck charging points across around 560 motorway service and rest areas by 2035, delivering approximately 1.6 GW of dedicated capacity along major freight routes.

Oreve and ABB's 18 MW is a small slice of that 1.6 GW, but it is early, private-sector capacity arriving years ahead of the 2035 horizon — and sited on corridors rather than depots.

What the operators say

Nicolas Dourassoff, CEO of Oreve, said the company intends to expand its charging infrastructure in line with developments in electric truck technology. That tracks with the MCS timing: trucks capable of megawatt charging are arriving on the market, and hubs need plugs that can feed them.

Bruno Bourguet, President EMEA at ABB E-mobility, highlighted the importance of scalable charging systems that can accommodate growing demand from freight operators. The M-Series' modular design is the commercial answer to that — install now, expand later, avoid stranding capital on oversized sites.

What does this change for shippers and carriers?

For now, nothing immediately — the 12 sites remain under development, with full deployment targeted for the end of 2028. But for carriers weighing electric truck orders on French lanes, the roadmap tightens: corridor charging arrives in stages through 2027 and 2028, MCS-capable hardware comes online from 2027, and the A400 installations land sooner.

Forwarders and shippers with emissions commitments should watch site locations as they are confirmed. Charging availability on a given corridor effectively sets where electric line-haul is viable, and where it is not.

The near-term signal is capacity: 18 MW, 100 points, 12 sites — and a national pipeline of 8,000 points and 1.6 GW still to come by 2035.