Plans for a new electric truck hub at the Port of Felixstowe are giving further momentum to the Green Freight Corridor being developed between Freeport East and East Midlands Freeport. Freeport East has provided an initial £50,000 to support Maritime Transport’s plans for an open-access charging facility on Anzani Avenue, with the proposed site capable of providing up to 6MW of high-speed charging for electric HGVs, other heavy vehicles and buses. If development progresses as planned, the facility could be operational by 2028.
The proposal comes as the two freeports continue to develop a wider approach to reducing emissions along one of the UK’s key freight routes. Freeport East and East Midlands Freeport established their Green Freight Corridor partnership in 2024, with the aim of combining investment in infrastructure, technology and new business models to support lower-carbon movement between the Port of Felixstowe and the Midlands logistics hub. The original agreement identified electric charging, green hydrogen, digital technologies and greater use of rail as areas where collaboration could help change how freight moves along the corridor.
The scale of the road freight activity around Felixstowe makes access to charging infrastructure particularly significant. More than 5,000 HGV journeys take place at the port each day, while only a small proportion of those vehicles are currently electric. The proposed hub is intended to address one of the practical barriers facing operators considering electric HGVs: access to reliable, high-capacity charging in the places where vehicles actually need it. Its open-access model could allow a range of hauliers and logistics operators to use the infrastructure, rather than limiting it to a single fleet.
The location also connects the project to wider industrial and infrastructure activity in the region. Freeport East says the hub could support freight operators serving employment sites and major projects, including Sizewell C, as well as vehicles travelling to and from the port. This gives the project relevance beyond port operations, with charging infrastructure potentially becoming part of the wider transport network serving the East of England.
The Green Freight Corridor itself is broader than road electrification. When the partnership was announced in 2024, Freeport East and East Midlands Freeport highlighted the role of rail freight, with the intention of increasing rail transport for Midlands-bound cargo while using battery-electric and hydrogen fuel-cell trucks for first- and final-mile movements. At the time, Maritime Transport reported that its rail freight share had grown from 6% in 2019 to 24%, demonstrating how different transport technologies can form part of the same decarbonisation strategy rather than being considered in isolation.
That multimodal approach is increasingly important as freight volumes, infrastructure demands and decarbonisation pressures develop together. Freeport East’s transport masterplan, published earlier this year, identified 14 proposed transport investments across road, rail, bus, active travel and digital integration, including priorities such as the A120 corridor, Ely rail and the Orwell Crossing. The plan is intended to support the region’s connectivity while helping unlock an estimated £5.5 billion in GVA and more than 10,000 jobs.
The latest funding for the electric truck hub therefore represents a step within a much larger infrastructure challenge. Electrifying heavy road freight requires more than vehicles; operators also need sufficient grid capacity, strategically located charging, suitable operating models and confidence that infrastructure will be available across the routes their fleets depend on. The proposed Felixstowe facility is still at the planning and technical development stage, with Freeport East’s funding supporting work towards a future planning application to East Suffolk Council.
There are already signs of wider investment in lower-emission freight operations at the port. In July, the Port of Felixstowe confirmed that its autonomous truck fleet had reached 100 fully electric vehicles, alongside investment in a second automated battery-swapping station. The port also says it has used electricity certified as coming from renewable sources since April 2023 and is targeting net zero Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2035.
What happens next will depend on how effectively these individual projects connect into a wider freight system. Charging infrastructure, rail capacity, alternative fuels, port operations and the commercial decisions made by shippers and logistics providers all influence whether lower-carbon transport options can move from individual projects into mainstream freight operations.
The development at Felixstowe is therefore another example of why freight decarbonisation cannot be approached through a single technology or organisation. It requires infrastructure providers, ports, operators, businesses, government and regional bodies to coordinate investment and understand how different parts of the supply chain fit together.
These conversations around infrastructure, technology, modal shift and collaboration will remain central to Sustainable Logistics LIVE London 2026. Bringing together logistics leaders, sustainability professionals and industry experts, SLL provides a space to examine how the sector can move beyond individual initiatives and build the collaboration needed to deliver practical change across supply chains. Join us in London on 10 November to be part of the conversation. Register now: Sustainable Logistics LIVE 2026 London Tickets, Tuesday 10 November • 9 AM – 4:30 PM | Eventbrite
Read the full Freeport East Masterplan: Freeport East Transport Masterplan