The Joint Operators Logistics Trial (JOLT), one of the Sustainable Road Freight (SRF) programme’s current major projects, has published its first-round report, providing new evidence on the real-world energy consumption and operating range of battery-electric heavy goods vehicles (HGVs).
The report, Joint Operators Logistics Trial (JOLT): Energy and Range Performance of Electric Lorries in-service, analyses data from the first round of EV trials, collected between June 2024 and July 2026. The first round involved 15 battery-electric lorries from five manufacturers, operating with 12 fleet operators. Through a combination of the JOLT round-robin trials, where vehicles were rotated between operators, and the Bring Your Own (BYO) vehicle programme, the project captured a substantial dataset of real-world fleet activity.
In total, the analysis includes 36,265 trips, more than 840,000 kilometres of recorded driving and 8,366 charging events. This provides a significant evidence base for understanding the practical realities of operating electric HGVs across different types of logistics operations.
What does the report tell us?
The findings show that vehicle weight is the strongest influence on energy performance, with energy consumption increasing at higher gross vehicle weights. Ambient temperature also has a notable effect, particularly in colder conditions, while factors such as wind, wet weather and elevation contribute to further variation.
The analysis provides estimates of vehicle energy consumption and potential operating range across different weights and conditions, highlighting the importance of understanding real-world operating factors when planning the use of electric HGVs.
For a more detailed breakdown of the findings, read the accompanying JOLT first-round summary report or access the full technical report below.
Supporting the transition to electric freight
The findings provide fleet operators, manufacturers and other stakeholders with practical evidence to inform the deployment of battery-electric HGVs. By examining vehicles in real-world service across a range of operators and applications, JOLT is helping to build a clearer picture of the factors that influence electric HGV performance and the operational considerations involved in electrifying heavy road freight.
Read the reports:
- Read the summary report here
- For access to the full report Joint Operators Logistics Trial (JOLT): Energy and Range Performance of Electric Lorries in-service contact:dc29 at cam.ac.uk
