25 February 2026 – ECS Zeebrugge, Belgium
Decarbonising long-haul freight transport is one of Europe’s toughest climate challenges – and ZEFES is tackling it where it matters most: in real-world operation. By developing modular zero-emission vehicle platforms and demonstrating battery-electric and fuel-cell trucks under daily long-haul conditions, the ZEFES project goes beyond isolated pilots. It aims to prove that zero-emission heavy-duty vehicles can match or even exceed the performance, efficiency and usability of today’s diesel trucks – paving the way for large-scale deployment in line with the European Green Deal.
ZEFES is a four-year innovation action focused on bringing nine long-haul truck configurations—both battery electric (BEV) and fuel cell electric (FCEV)—into real-world operation across strategic TEN-T corridors. By integrating vehicle technology development with operational trials in active logistics environments, the project seeks to build robust evidence on performance, scalability, and cost-effective deployment pathways for zero-emission long-distance haulage.
On the 25th of February 2026, the ZEFES consortium brought together industry leaders and stakeholders at ECS Zeebrugge for a dedicated Symposium titled “Celebrating a Milestone in the Electrification of Intermodal Cross-Border Long-Haul Transport.” The event highlighted major advancements within the European Union–funded ZEFES project, which aims to accelerate the decarbonisation of long-distance and cross boarder freight through large-scale deployment and testing of zero-emission heavy-duty vehicles with megawatt charging.
Hosted by Procter & Gamble (P&G) in collaboration with ECS, the Symposium brought together logistics operators, technology providers, vehicle OEMs, infrastructure developers, and policy stakeholders to examine Europe’s readiness for electrified heavy-duty transport. Attendees had the opportunity to observe first-hand news on the latest status of the ZEFES project and a series of technical demonstrations.
The project update covered:
- Overview of ZEFES demonstrations across Europe
- Vehicle technologies, prime and second movers
- Digital platform supporting ZE-HDVs in daily operations
- Battery Electric Vehicles operating at up to 64 tonnes GCW
- Megawatt Charging System (MCS) infrastructure delivering charging power up to 1.2 MW
- Electric European Modular System (EMS) configurations supporting high-capacity freight movements
- A battery-electric dolly designed for range extension in electric EMS configurations, hybridization of conventional truck-duotrailer combinations, and automation-ready standalone operation on yards
These demonstrations illustrated meaningful progress in addressing operational barriers to electrified long-haul transport, particularly around high-power charging, vehicle weight capability, and automated yard logistics. For the trade sector, the event offered concrete insights into how zero-emission technologies can be integrated into complex intermodal supply chains.
The roles of the demonstrating partners in this event are:
- ECS – ECS is a leading provider of integrated supply chain logistics and intermodal transport solutions, operating across more than 35 European countries. ECS specializes in transport and logistics between the UK and Ireland and the European mainland.
Each day, ECS executes over 1,000 intermodal full loads using 45‑foot containers and trailers throughout Europe. In addition, ECS manages storage for 200,000 pallets for the UK retail in Zeebrugge — the optimal strategic location for serving the UK market.
Within the framework of the ZEFES project, ECS deploys a Volvo electric truck, hosts the ABB mobile truck charger on its Zeebrugge site, and coordinates the intermodal transport of P&G shipments.
- Procter & Gamble (P&G) is a global leader in consumer goods and serves consumers around the world with one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Always®, Ambi Pur®, Ariel®, Bounty®, Charmin®, Crest®, Dawn®, Downy®, Fairy®, Febreze®, Gain®, Gillette®, Head & Shoulders®, Lenor®, Olay®, Oral-B®, Pampers®, Pantene®, SK-II®, Tide®, Vicks®, and Whisper®. The P&G community includes operations in approximately 70 countries worldwide. In the context of ZEFES, P&G is organizing and operating the demonstration of 2 use cases with commercial loads. The intermodal use case Amiens to Zeebrugge is with daily operations in both directions together with the carrier ECS and electric vehicle. The second use case is a round trip between Germany and 2 sites in Italy with a hydrogen vehicle.
- ABB E-mobility– As a leading provider of EV charging infrastructure, ABB E-mobility supports the ZEFES initiative with its MCS1200 charger, marking its first public installation. This deployment helps validate reliable high-power charging under real operating conditions and lays the groundwork for scalable infrastructure in future electric long-haul logistics, advancing ZEFES’s goal of preparing the market for megawatt charging in heavy-duty transport.
- Scania CV – Scania’s purpose is to drive the shift towards a sustainable transport system, creating a world of mobility that is better for business, society and the environment. For Scania, the future is electric. Therefore, it is essential that the infrastructure is developed and deployed to enable our customers to drive electric. In the ZEFES project, Scania delivers three BEV vehicles and one Fuel Cell vehicle. Together with operators, transport buyers and infrastructure suppliers, we investigate how these vehicles can be used in a cross border, long haulage operation. Knowledge from this, including certification challenges, range estimation and infrastructure availability can be used to speed up the deployment.
- Volvo Group is driving electrification as a cornerstone for a more sustainable future.
With electric trucks already making an impact on the roads, it’s crucial to accelerate the development of charging infrastructure to support this growth.
In the collaborative ZEFES initiative, Volvo Group is contributing by providing four battery-electric trucks and one fuel cell electric vehicle.
Together with operators, transport buyers and infrastructure suppliers, we will test these vehicles in real-world conditions, focusing on efficiency, infrastructure, range, and regulatory alignment. This marks an important step toward cleaner and smarter heavy transport.
- Fraunhofer IVI – Fraunhofer IVI provides support along the entire development chain of vehicle automation: from global trajectory planning to precise trajectory tracking control, obstacle avoidance, and system integration into existing infrastructures. As partner of the ZEFES project, Fraunhofer IVI presents an electrified converter dolly (e-dolly) that enables the efficient handling of long EMS vehicle combinations in yards and terminals. By splitting the vehicle combination, the e-dolly can (automatically) maneuver an attached semitrailer independent from the towing vehicle. This allows the system to operate on existing infrastructure that is currently designed for conventional tractor-semitrailer-combinations. On public roads, the e-dolly can support the electrification of long EMS vehicle combinations, especially for demanding mission profiles.
Watch all interview videos from the ZEFES Symposium and view the slides presented during the morning program.
- ZEFES Stakeholder Symposium 2026 – interview ABB E-mobility
- ZEFES Stakeholder Symposium 2026 – interview Fraunhofer IVI
- ZEFES Stakeholder Symposium 2026 – interview ECS
- ZEFES Stakeholder Symposium 2026 – interview P&G
- ZEFES Stakeholder Symposium 2026 – interview SCANIA
- ZEFES Stakeholder Symposium 2026 – interview VOLVO Group
- ZEFES Stakeholder Symposium 2026 – interview VUB
- ZEFES Stakeholder Symposium 2026 – Slides Presentation
