UK food wholesaler Bidfood has installed an overhead charging solution at its Slough depot which allows electric trucks to charge during loading stops without using ground space for charging equipment. 
 
Kempower has initially supplied infrastructure for a total of four charging bays, located in the depot’s existing loading docks to optimise the use of available space and enable charging during scheduled reloading stops. Four Kempower Control Units have been installed overhead using a gantry solution and paired with a cable arm so the plug can be accessed from above, eliminating the need for in-ground installations or site redesign.
 
The Control Units receive power dynamically from a single 600 kW Kempower Power Unit and can each deliver up to 160 kW fast charging power, meaning e-trucks can be meaningfully recharged during typical loading windows of between 45 minutes and 2 hours without the need for an additional charging stop.
 
Bidfood’s newly electrified Slough depot, which is also its headquarters and a strategic hub for serving the Greater London and Thames Valley regions, is part of its commitment to reduce its absolute carbon emissions by at least 90% by 2045. The company operates more than 1,200 trucks across the UK altogether.
 
Gareth Sutcliffe, Kempower’s UK Sales Manager for Commercial Fleets, said: “While the urgency for UK fleets to electrify is real, the practicalities of fitting a depot with charging infrastructure are an industry-wide challenge. Nevertheless, the overhead solution which conserves space and makes use of scheduled loading stops is becoming a tried and tested method that operators like Bidfood can continue to replicate.”
 
Faye Reeve, Head of Non-Inventory Procurement at Bidcorp UK, the parent company of Bidfood, said: “This installation was an important step in our decarbonisation strategy. We have been exploring the transition of our fleet for some time, but it was important to us that we found infrastructure and a set-up that complemented our operations. Our first charging system is set up so that we can continue to operate in the same way, just as efficiently and profitably as before, and it’s given us a blueprint for the next phases of our electrification plan.”
 
The project was designed and delivered by Erinion, a depot charging specialist within the Scania group and Kempower sales and service partner.
 
Jack Smith, Erinion’s Country Manager for the UK, said: “Operators across the UK are asking the same question: how do we charge our trucks without giving up yard space? Slough shows it can be done within an existing footprint. We designed the gantry as a modular system, so Bidfood can add charging bays as the fleet grows without starting over. We’re looking forward to bringing that experience to more depots across the UK.”