Charging Up: Accelerating Fleet Electrification with Charging Infrastructure as a Service (CIaaS)

Blog

Apr 02 2025  |  6 min read

Fleet operators are increasingly at the forefront of the transition to electric vehicles, driven by a combination of regulatory pressure, sustainability targets, and compelling economic incentives. At MN8 Energy, we recognize this journey is complex, filled with both opportunities and challenges. This post kicks off Charging Up, a blog series exploring fleet electrification—covering the benefits, hurdles, and practical solutions MN8 provides to simplify this transition.

Fleet electrification represents a transformative shift beyond mere operational changes, fundamentally reshaping transportation and logistics systems. Yet, despite these clear benefits, fleet electrification is fraught with significant complexities that make it challenging to gauge the true costs of deployment and ownership of adequate charging infrastructure. Charging Infrastructure as a Service (CIaaS) provides a much-needed pathway for fleet operators to gain access to charging facilities without the heavy – and often uncertain – burden of upfront capital expenditures and ongoing maintenance costs.

 

Many levers, one destination

Macro forces like stricter emissions regulations, corporate sustainability commitments, and substantial economic incentives are driving adoption of electric vehicles for a wide range of commercial use cases.

In states such as California and New York, aggressive targets set by regulations like the Advanced Clean Trucks rule are mandating a swift transition to zero-emission vehicles. In addition, many multinational companies with large fleets are subject to greenhouse gas disclosure and reporting requirements under the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, and as a result, are looking for pathways to reduce fleet-related emissions.

However, companies are embracing electrification for the benefits it provides beyond compliance — significantly lowering their fuel and maintenance costs, enhancing their brand reputation, and actively contributing to their long-term sustainability and decarbonization goals.

 

Navigating to deployments takes not only expertise but capital

Fleet operators frequently face daunting hurdles to get charging infrastructure in place, along heavily-trafficked routes or at depots. Many operators underestimate the substantial upfront capital required to develop adequate charging infrastructure and the ongoing operational challenges of maintaining reliability and scalability as their electric fleet expands.

Making a site charger-ready often requires significant investments beyond the charging equipment itself, including power upgrades, transformers, cabling, and site improvements.

In addition, operators may not be aware of ongoing operational, and maintenance (O&M) expenses involved for charging sites, such as providing support for drivers, software services, preventative and corrective maintenance, spare parts management, and emergency response to ensure continuous and reliable charging performance.

As fleets grow and technology evolves, additional investments may be required to expand infrastructure or upgrade equipment, further complicating the cost structure.

As a result, siting fleet charging infrastructure requires solving for a complex set of factors: finding the right locations with sufficient space and adequate power supply, navigating complicated permitting processes involving local authorities and utility companies, and vetting hardware and software solutions to meet your fleet’s needs.

 

Shifting from CapEx to OpEx

Recognizing these substantial barriers, MN8 Energy offers fleet owners a comprehensive solution known as Charging Infrastructure as a Service (CIaaS). This service tackles the issues fleet operators face in electrifying head-on. Instead of fleet owners shouldering the complexities and financial burdens alone, MN8 manages every aspect—from site selection and acquisition, detailed design, permitting, and construction, through to ongoing operations and maintenance.

 

MN8’s CIaaS model relieves the financial pressures typically associated with large infrastructure projects by financing all upfront capital costs. This approach turns what would typically be heavy capital expenditures into predictable operating expenses, allowing fleets to better manage financial resources and reduce risk. Our team of dedicated professionals coordinate with local authorities and utilities, ensuring the infrastructure is not only tailored precisely to the operational requirements of our customers but is also future-proofed to grow with your fleet’s needs.

 

Why MN8?

MN8 Energy, with its roots as Goldman Sachs Renewable Power, brings together deep expertise in deploying and operating renewable energy, energy storage, and EV infrastructure long-term. Our proven track record includes substantial projects like our joint venture with Mercedes-Benz to construct a comprehensive nationwide fast-charging network. With a robust team managing 874 [CA1] energy projects across the country, MN8 offers an unparalleled blend of financial strength, technical expertise, and operational excellence.

 

From experience, our team understands that ongoing fleet electrification goes far beyond simply installing chargers. It demands careful planning, seamless integration with existing operations, and meticulous management to ensure high reliability and minimal downtime. At MN8, we provide a tailored approach, deeply aligned with your operational realities, while consistently delivering the quality, reliability, and scalability that modern fleets demand.

As we continue exploring fleet electrification throughout this blog series, we’ll delve into critical topics such as multi-tenant charging depots, specific use cases like food and beverage fleet electrification, and other niche areas.

Electrifying your fleet is no small feat, but the benefits are substantial and achievable with the right partner. At MN8, we are committed to simplifying fleet electrification, enabling operators to focus on their core business while achieving ambitious environmental and economic goals. If you’re considering fleet electrification or have started the journey and face challenges along the way, we are here to support you.

Connect with our team at [email protected] to discuss your electrification needs and how we can help turn your vision into reality.