On 28 January 2026, ALICE organised the MACBETH Validation Workshop, an online session bringing together project partners and invited stakeholders to validate findings from an extensive interview campaign on the deployment of megawatt charging systems (MCS) for battery-electric trucks. Marking a key milestone at the end of the project’s first year, the workshop focused on requirements, gaps, and priorities across the truck-charging ecosystem.
The session aimed to move beyond data collection towards validation, inviting participants to reflect on consolidated interview results covering demand-side users, charging operators, technology providers, logistics site owners and framework-setting actors. Through presentations and interactive polls, discussions explored where truck electrification is taking place today, which use cases are emerging, and what systemic barriers continue to hinder large-scale MCS deployment.
Alice Scotti (ALICE) opened the workshop by outlining the session objectives and the broader stakeholder engagement approach underpinning the MACBETH project. She explained how the interview campaign builds on activities conducted throughout 2025, including surveys and workshops linked to the FLEXMCS project, and how its scope was progressively expanded to include 21 stakeholder groups. The validation workshop was framed as a collaborative checkpoint, inviting the 65 participants to assess whether the identified challenges and priorities reflect their operational experience.
Yancho Todorov (VTT), MACBETH project coordinator, then presented an overview of the project and its ambition to support the scalable deployment of multipoint megawatt charging hubs along key European logistics corridors. He introduced the two MACBETH pilot sites: a mixed-use hub in Sweden combining MCS and CCS charging for heavy- and light-duty vehicles, and a truck-focused hub in Belgium along the North Sea–Baltic corridor. The pilots aim to test different operational conditions, business models and integration strategies, generating evidence to support future roll-out.
Building on this context, Khalis Sinaga (ALICE) presented the main findings from the stakeholder interviews, highlighting the current state of truck electrification and charging practices. Battery-electric trucks are still predominantly deployed on predictable, regional missions, with depot charging remaining the backbone of operations. While interest and momentum are growing, long-haul electrification remains limited due to infrastructure gaps, vehicle constraints and operational uncertainty. Participants confirmed that mission structure, predictability and coordination complexity often play a more decisive role than distance alone when assessing feasibility.
During the interactive discussion, participants reviewed the main barriers identified across stakeholder groups. Grid capacity and energy availability emerged as the most critical bottlenecks, followed by land access, permitting complexity and business case uncertainty. Operational challenges, including charging bay availability, power allocation and the lack of integrated reservation systems, were also highlighted, alongside concerns related to standards interpretation, battery performance and interoperability.
The workshop also identified opportunities and early best practices to support improved deployment conditions. These include hybrid hub concepts combining CCS and MCS, collaborative grid connection approaches, dynamic reservation and power allocation systems, and the controlled opening of private charging infrastructure to external users. Participants agreed that improved predictability and utilisation will be essential for both fleet operators and charging point operators to enable viable business models.
The session concluded with a forward-looking discussion on the future coexistence of MCS and CCS. Stakeholder insights suggest that both standards are likely to operate in parallel during a prolonged transition period, with hub design and vehicle configurations evolving in line with use-case and corridor-specific needs. ALICE closed the workshop by outlining next steps for MACBETH, including further validation activities, dissemination actions and in-person exchanges linked to upcoming project events and pilot demonstrations.
ERTICO is responsible for the project’s dissemination, communication and exploitation activities, ensuring that project results reach relevant stakeholders and the wider community. In addition, ERTICO acts as Innovation Manager, guiding the project’s innovative elements to align with industry needs and policy objectives. This involvement complements ERTICO’s engagement in other EU initiatives under the 2Zero partnership, including ZEV-UP, NextETRUCK and eCharge4Drivers. Other ERTICO partners, such as Chalmers University of Technology and project coordinator VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, collaborate closely to achieve the project’s objectives and maximise impact.
The workshop report, including detailed findings and consolidated stakeholder input, is currently available exclusively to participants. The final version of Deliverable D2.1, Stakeholder needs on the exploitation of megawatt charging systems, will be published on the project website following Project Officer approval.