Public sector tenders project support for e-truck charging drive
New tender will appoint a project manager for a €1bn programme backing climate-friendly commercial vehicles and charging infrastructure for electric trucks.
New tender will appoint a project manager for a €1bn programme backing climate-friendly commercial vehicles and charging infrastructure for electric trucks.
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The Federal Ministry of Transport is seeking external project management support to run a €1 billion funding programme for climate-friendly commercial vehicles. Through a new project management contract for its climate-friendly commercial vehicles funding programme, the ministry aims to speed up deployment of e-truck charging infrastructure and keep a large portfolio of funded projects aligned with climate and compliance goals.
Published on 24th November 2025, the contract notice sets out the ministry’s plan to appoint a contractor to help implement a funding programme for climate-friendly commercial vehicles. The focus is squarely on charging infrastructure for electric trucks, signalling an intention to support not only vehicle uptake but also the backbone needed to keep heavy vehicles powered. By pairing financial support with centralised programme management, the ministry is looking to turn policy ambitions on cleaner freight into deliverable projects on the ground.
The initiative is backed by funding of €1 billion. That scale suggests a wide field of potential beneficiaries, from logistics operators to charging point developers and local authorities. It also raises the stakes for effective governance: the contractor will not only help manage individual projects but will also support the ministry in ensuring that public money flows to eligible investments and that funded activities contribute credibly to reducing emissions from commercial transport.
The notice describes a contractor role that goes beyond simple administration. The selected provider will assist the Federal Ministry of Transport in implementing the funding programme, with work concentrated on three core areas:
Project and compliance management of this kind sits at the interface between policy and practice. It means tracking how individual projects progress, checking that they meet the programme’s technical and financial conditions, and helping the ministry respond quickly if projects stall or circumstances change. The emphasis on “compliance activities” points to the need for robust oversight of eligibility criteria, funding conditions and reporting obligations, so that the programme can withstand scrutiny from auditors and the wider public.
This is not the only large funding scheme where a federal ministry is turning to external project management. In August 2025, the Ministry for Research, Technology and Space published a contract for project management support for the FH-Personal funding programme, seeking professional and administrative support for grant processing, monitoring and coordination. The climate-friendly commercial vehicles programme follows the same model: rather than handling every application and project in-house, the ministry wants a dedicated external partner to keep the machinery of a complex funding scheme running.
The new contract also sits within a year marked by a wave of public-sector tenders around electric vehicles and charging infrastructure. In August 2025, the regional ministry responsible for economic affairs and climate protection in North Rhine-Westphalia launched a framework agreement titled Support for Electromobility in NRW. That contract aims to accelerate electromobility between 2026 and 2028 by enhancing charging infrastructure, engaging target groups and promoting awareness and investment in battery-electric mobility. Together, these initiatives show regional and federal authorities trying to push both infrastructure and user uptake.
On the infrastructure side, several large buyers are now procuring full-service delivery packages. In August 2025, the federal procurement office for defence equipment issued a charging infrastructure framework agreement for the Bundeswehr, seeking a full-service provider to plan, construct and operate charging points, and to supply electricity, across seven regional lots. Earlier in June 2025, the city of Regensburg tendered planning services for charging infrastructure at a recycling centre, while in September 2025 the Luzern transport operator launched a contract for charging infrastructure planning to support its transition to an electric bus fleet.
Demand-side investments are moving in parallel. Municipal and regional transport operators are replacing buses and service vehicles with cleaner options, often tying vehicle procurement to charging solutions and maintenance services. In July 2025, the municipal operator in Bonn sought to renew its fleet through a bus fleet renewal agreement for electric and clean diesel buses. In the same month, the municipality of Campulung advertised an electric public transport system development project combining buses, minibuses and charging stations. Framework agreements for zero-emission vehicles and charging systems, such as Karmøy Kommune’s vehicle framework from May 2025, point in the same direction.
Digital control systems are also becoming central to low-emission fleets. In November 2025, the Berlin transport company issued a tender for a depot management system to digitalise operations at up to 15 depots, covering vehicle allocation, charging management and real-time tracking for up to 3,500 vehicles over a ten-year period. The e-truck funding programme will add another layer to this landscape by directing significant financial support, and dedicated management capacity, toward the heavy-duty charging infrastructure that freight operators will need.
The Federal Ministry of Transport has already signalled that it sees external support as important to delivering climate-focused transport policies. In August 2025 it launched a framework agreement for transport sector support, seeking conceptual and communicative backing for project development, stakeholder engagement and climate protection measures. The new project management contract for climate-friendly commercial vehicles complements that earlier framework by concentrating on delivery and compliance for a specific, high-value funding instrument.
Other transport authorities are taking similar steps to strengthen the “soft infrastructure” around major investments. In November 2025, the mobility authority in Hamburg published a tender for legal support for vehicle procurement in the S-Bahn network, underlining how compliance, contractual structuring and stakeholder management are now recognised as distinct workstreams alongside infrastructure delivery and fleet renewal.
For suppliers, the climate-friendly commercial vehicles programme highlights that opportunities in the transition to cleaner transport are not limited to building charging stations or supplying vehicles. Public buyers are commissioning end-to-end support for funding schemes, from strategic design and stakeholder engagement to detailed project and compliance management. That trend is visible across the 2025 notices for electromobility support, charging infrastructure frameworks and depot management systems.
As the €1 billion programme for climate-friendly commercial vehicles moves from tender to implementation, the balance between hard infrastructure, digital control and governance will be worth watching. Future procurements linked to the scheme could cover everything from technical assistance for applicants to monitoring and evaluation of funded projects. For now, the new project management contract marks a significant step in organising how public money will be steered into the charging infrastructure that electric trucks will depend on.
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