Commercial vehicles First electric truck charged with one megawatt charging power

Daimler Truck has charged the first E-Actros with one megawatt of charging power, MAN previously demonstrated charging with 700 kilowatts. A core network of MCS chargers is expected to be in place in Europe by 2025.

For the first time, truck manufacturers Daimler Truck and MAN have charged commercial vehicle prototypes with one megawatt charging power. In its demonstration in March, MAN measured the E-Truck's charging power at "more than 700 kilowatts and 1,000 amps". The industry typically refers to megawatt charging from 700 kilowatts onwards. According to the company, Mercedes-Benz reached the full charging power of 1,000 kilowatts during internal tests in April.

The charging stations are located at MAN's development center in Munich and at the Mercedes-Benz Trucks development and testing center in Wörth am Rhein. The so-called MCS standard is being developed by partners in the "CharIN" ("Charging Interface Initiative") initiative. It is expected for this year.

The German pilot project "HoLa - High Power Charging in Long-Distance Truck Transport" involves Daimler Truck, MAN, Scania, and Volvo Trucks, among others. It involves practical tests and information about the European MCS network. The charging stations are provided by the Swiss automation provider ABB. A total of 21 partners from industry and research are involved in the project.

CCS and MCS charging points for practical tests

In the project, the partners want to set up, operate, and use two high-power charging points with MCS at four locations in real logistics operations. It starts with two CCS charging points for trucks at five locations along the A2 between Berlin and the Ruhr area.

At the locations, the companies want to integrate electric trucks into the logistics processes and test the fast charging of electric trucks. The truck manufacturers provide eight CCS and four MCS vehicles for this. At the end of the project, there should be ten CCS charging points and eight MCS charging points available - as a basis for nationwide expansion.

Mercedes plans to mass-produce the E-Actros from the end of 2024. The model is supposed to support "megawatt charging with a full 1,000 kilowatts" later, once available. Until then, customers can order pre-installation, and according to Mercedes, older models can be retrofitted.

Up to 3.75 megawatts of charging power

The MCS charging standard, "Megawatt Charging System", is technically designed for charging capacities of up to 3.75 megawatts at a current strength of 3,000 amperes and a voltage of 1,250 volts.

The project partner Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI, recommends an initial public fast charging network with at least 1,000 MCS charging points for Germany. "With rapid market penetration of E-trucks in long-distance travel and longer downtimes of 45 minutes, more like 2,000 MCS charging points will be needed by 2030," the institute predicts.

In the regulation on the establishment of infrastructure for alternative fuels, "AFIR", the European Union has set minimum requirements for public fast charging networks for battery trucks for each EU member state. For example, by 2025, 32 charging points with a charging capacity of 65.9 megawatts should be established in Germany.