ABB E-mobility and MAN Truck & Bus recently celebrated the premiere of the Megawatt Charging System (MCS) in Germany. A MAN eTruck was charged with more than 700 kW and 1,000 amperes (A) at MAN’s development center in Munich on March 21, using an MCS charging station from ABB E-mobility.
“Bavaria on the way to the mobility of the future: today, the starting signal was given for the first megawatt charging station for electric trucks at MAN in Munich,” said Bavarian Minister President Dr. Markus Söder, who was present for the event. “This is state-of-the-art ecological and economical e-mobility that is being developed in Bavaria. We need to put our domestic industry in a position to compete. Innovation and technology secure the future.”
MAN says the premiere of megawatt charging acted as the starting signal for an elementary component of the mobility transition in the commercial vehicle sector towards climate-friendly mobility and the successful electrification of buses and trucks. The company adds that especially in national and international long-distance transport or in loading and unloading situations, electric trucks and, in the future, electric coaches, will need a fast MCS booster during the legally prescribed driving time break. The new technology, according to MAN, therefore complements existing solutions: Depot charging with lower charging capacities will continue to play a central role in the future.
The companies says while ABB E-mobility and MAN have demonstrated more than 700 kW charging power with prototype charging technology, the new MCS megawatt charging standard is technically designed for charging capacities of up to 3.75 MW at 3,000 A. With the finalization of the MCS standard, MAN adds that charging capacities of over one megawatt will already be possible, which will result in a significant improvement in charging times.
