Zero Emission Vehicles Ireland (ZEVI) has placed freight electrification firmly on its agenda, highlighting expanded grants for electric trucks and heavy-duty charging infrastructure.
Under the Zero-Emission Heavy Duty Vehicle Purchase Grant Scheme, businesses can access up to €500,000 in funding per budgetary year.
The grant is calculated against the price difference between a zero-emission truck and its diesel equivalent. Small businesses can receive up to 60 per cent of that difference, medium-sized companies 50 per cent and large operators 30 per cent.
Separate infrastructure grants of up to €300,000 are available for depot chargers, electrical upgrades, installation and associated civil works.
Operators can also access a fully funded EV Fleet Assessment, covering routes, vehicle suitability, charging requirements and total ownership costs.
Crucially, businesses must apply before ordering, purchasing or registering a vehicle. Charging equipment already ordered or installed is also ineligible.
The expanded support is good news for return-to-base fleets operating predictable routes. However, grants alone will not deliver Ireland’s transition to zero-emission freight.
ZEVI says Ireland had 3,428 public charging points across 1,150 locations in June 2026, with €20 million being invested in 266 additional high-powered stations.
But public EV chargers are not necessarily suitable for trucks.
Electric HGVs need far greater charging power, pull-through bays, sufficient space for articulated vehicles and locations that fit drivers’ routes and statutory rest periods.
Ireland still lacks a comprehensive public HGV charging network along its principal freight corridors, at ports and around major logistics hubs.
ZEVI’s latest emphasis on freight is welcome. The Government is finally recognising that electric trucks, depot infrastructure and operational planning must be supported together.
But the message from the industry should remain clear: helping operators buy electric trucks is only half the solution. Unless Ireland provides somewhere practical to charge them, freight decarbonisation will remain stuck in the slow lane.
