A prototype Megawatt Charging System (MCS) being developed by Germany’s Siemens has successfully delivered a 1MW charge, the firm has announced. But it may be some time before we see such chargers ‘in the wild’.
The milestone was hit in a pilot project that involved not one, but two protypes: a Siemens MCS charging station and a long-haul e-truck from a “well-established” but unidentified OEM.
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The prototype MCS station consists of multiple Sicharge UC150 power cabinets, a switching matrix and a customized MCS dispenser, Siemens says. “The switching matrix is the central element in the MCS, bundling the output power of the charging stations and, depending on the requirement, directing the power to the MCS dispenser,” it adds.
E-truck batteries could be charged from 20pc to 80pc in about 30 minutes at a suitable charging station with an output of c.1MW, the firm predicts.
New horizons
“Especially in long-distance transport, electric trucks and coaches will need fast MCS during the legally prescribed driving time break,” says Markus Mildner, CEO e-mobility at Siemens Smart Infrastructure. “To ensure nationwide distribution of this, various requirements must be met including on the governmental side.
“However, the successful test brings us a big step forward on the technology side and underlines our ambition to actively make transport more sustainable,” he continues.
Siemens notes that heavy-duty vehicles (HDVs) are responsible for more than 25pc of greenhouse gas emissions from road transport in the EU. The European Parliament has recently adopted new measures to strengthen CO2 emission reduction targets for new HDVs, with emissions from large trucks and buses needing to be reduced by 90pc as of 2040. By 2030, new urban buses will need to reduce their emissions by 90pc and become zero-emission vehicles by 2035, Siemens adds.
And it predicts that “the electrification of long-distance trucking will change the business model of transport companies and create room for competitive advantage on several levels”. “More and more customers of transport companies are attaching importance to CO2-neutral transportation of their goods — providers who cannot meet this requirement will miss out,” it warns.
Available now
While the industry waits to see when MCs might become commercially available, manufacturers continue to make progress with the capabilities of chargers that can be deployed. Taiwanese electronics firm Delta this week showcased its new 500kW DC heavy-duty EV charger, the UFC 500, designed for fleet and public charging.
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