Funding for electric trucks: the Zero Emission Truck Grant and beyond

Electric trucks carry a significant price premium, so the funding matters. The good news is there’s dedicated support for the vehicles, alongside the grant that helps with the chargers.

Vehicle support for trucks

Grants toward the purchase of zero-emission trucks reduce the vehicle capital cost — the largest single line in most HGV projects. These sit separately from the Depot Charging Scheme, which covers the chargepoints and civils, so the two stack on the same project: one pot for the trucks, another for the infrastructure.

Innovation funding at the frontier

At the cutting edge, government and innovation programmes have backed electric-HGV demonstrators and the first megawatt charging hubs. These are more about proving the hardest use cases than routine grants, but for larger freight operators they’re worth watching — and sometimes participating in.

Mind the gap: the grid

As always, the grid reinforcement that a truck depot often needs falls outside the main grants. Given how large that cost can be at HGV scale, budget for it separately and lean on smart charging and storage to keep it down.

Stay current

Scheme terms, rates and eligibility move over time, so check what’s live when you buy rather than planning around a fixed figure — the Funding tracker keeps the position current, and the Grant Eligibility Checker gives a quick read. The winning approach mirrors every other segment: map costs into vehicles, infrastructure and grid; point the right funding at each; and be application-ready before windows open.