As cities grow, construction activities and their associated transport intensify, increasing energy demand and transport emissions. Different systems operate with different planning horizons and priorities. Construction sites require energy quickly and on a temporary basis. At the same time, electricity grid operators plan on a five- to ten-year horizon, while logistics companies operate in cycles of two to three years. This temporal mismatch creates bottlenecks, uncertainty, and pressure on local actors to find their own solutions.
Thus, despite the existence of technology and vehicles, the development of charging solutions, and the strong interconnections between the subsystems for construction, energy distribution, and transport, the electrification of heavy transport and construction logistics is progressing slowly. Why is this the case?
The answer lies in a lack of coordination between these subsystems. The barriers are primarily not technical, but organizational, institutional, and related to the inherent mechanisms of the systems themselves. The transition of heavy transport cannot be seen as a simple vehicle replacement—it requires thorough coordination between the energy system, the transport system, and the built environment.
Workshops and dialogues with industry and the public sector confirm this picture of misaligned subsystems and the obstacles to collaboration.
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