How Depotcharge Is Building BGL Charge for Electric Truck Fleets

Private charging infrastructure at freight depots can be useful beyond the fleet that owns it—but only if other carriers can find it, gain access and pay for it without disrupting the depot’s core operations. Munich-based Depotcharge is betting that a neutral software and transaction layer can solve that problem.

The company has raised a €2.7 million pre-seed round led by High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), with xdeck Ventures, Kopa Ventures, Prequel Ventures and business angels participating. At the same time, Depotcharge is launching BGL Charge, a Germany-wide depot-charging network for electric road freight, with the Federal Association for Road Haulage, Logistics and Waste Disposal (BGL) and support from E.L.V.I.S. AG. 14

The model: share idle depot chargers instead of building a new estate

Depotcharge’s proposition is asset-light. Rather than own and operate a separate charging network, it connects charging points already installed at logistics depots and enables operators to offer unused capacity to other approved fleets. The aim is to make private infrastructure usable across a wider group of carriers when it is available. 516

That distinction matters operationally. Depot operators remain in charge of their sites: they determine their own tariffs, access rules and charger availability. A company can therefore keep capacity for its own vehicles at busy times and open it to external users when it has spare capacity. 12

Depotcharge’s role is to run the shared-network layer. BGL Charge handles location marketing, access control, invoicing and payment processing, according to the partnership announcement. 1214

Why BGL Charge could help address fragmented truck charging

The partnership gives Depotcharge a distribution route into German road freight. BGL represents around 7,000 companies, according to Depotcharge, and BGL Charge is positioned as the association’s nationwide depot-charging network for road freight. 13

E.L.V.I.S. AG adds a defined logistics community to the rollout. The freight cooperation says that more than 250 partner companies at over 350 locations are being brought into the Depotcharge charging community, which will also form part of BGL Charge. 15

For a marketplace, this matters because the network needs both sides: depot operators willing to expose available charging capacity and carriers that need reliable places to charge along their routes. BGL and E.L.V.I.S. provide channels to bring those groups together.

How the platform is designed to work

Depotcharge says its platform is independent of charging hardware, charging backends and vehicle manufacturers. It supports standard OCPP-compatible charge points, according to the company, allowing network participants to use existing compatible equipment rather than adopt a single hardware provider. 1314

For fleet users, the intended experience is simpler than arranging one-off access with individual depot owners: find available charging points on a route, book access and have access and settlement handled through the network. Depotcharge already describes route-based discovery and booking as part of its platform offer. 13

The planned product roadmap is focused on making charging work within freight operations rather than as a separate administrative task. Depotcharge says the funding will support reservations, open interfaces, dispatch integration and links to existing transport-management systems. 7

What the €2.7 million is intended to fund

The pre-seed financing is earmarked for further platform development and faster international expansion. 714 In practical terms, the next phase is about improving the workflow around shared depot charging:

• Reservations to give fleets more certainty before reaching a depot;
• Open interfaces that can connect the platform with other logistics and charging systems;
• Dispatch and transport-management-system integrations so planners can incorporate charging access into operational decisions. 7

The takeaway for logistics fleets

BGL Charge is designed as a shared-access network built on infrastructure that logistics companies already own. Its appeal depends on preserving local control for depot operators while reducing the friction for carriers that need compatible, accessible charging on their routes.

Depotcharge’s funding and partnerships give it capital, an industry channel and an initial community of potential sites and users. The important test now is execution: whether reservations, integrations and a growing supply of available depot chargers can make shared charging dependable enough for day-to-day electric truck operations. 71215