Electric trucks in long-distance transport are, above all, a dream of the future. Whether the quiet trucks catch on also depends on how quickly they are charged on the go. Daimler Truck now reports success.
The commercial vehicle manufacturer Daimler Truck says it has made great progress in the rapid charging of electric trucks. Developers in the truck segment Mercedes-Benz have succeeded for the first time in charging a prototype of the battery-electric long-distance truck eActros 600 at a charging station with an output of one megawatt (1000 kilowatts), said the Dax group from Leinfelden-Echterdingen near Stuttgart . The test took place in the company’s own development and testing center in Wörth am Rhein near Karlsruhe.
This is an enormous development step, said the head of e-charging components at Mercedes-Benz Trucks, Peter Ziegler, according to the announcement. The company is now working on bringing the technology for the MCS (Megawatt Charging System) charging standard in the eActros 600 to series production. The start of series production of the vehicle is planned for the end of this year. Customers should then be able to retrofit the MCS technology later.
Other companies are also pushing forward MCS development. Competitor MAN had already demonstrated a charging process with, according to its own information, more than 700 kilowatts in March in Munich together with the charging infrastructure provider ABB E-mobility.
MCS technology is still in its infancy
However, MCS is still in its infancy. Charging power plays an important role in the electrification of heavy long-distance transport. Because time is a crucial factor in the logistics industry. The power with which the batteries are charged is stated in watts.
To put it simply: the higher the power, the faster the charging process. To date, the CCS (Combined Charging System) fast charging system has been able to provide charging capacities of up to 350 kilowatt hours. For comparison: Normal charging stations for electric cars often have 22 kilowatt hours available.
According to Daimler Truck, with one megawatt – i.e. 1000 kilowatts – the batteries of the eActros 600 could be charged from 20 to 80 percent in around 30 minutes. This is particularly important for charging on the route, for example when stopping at a rest area when the driver has to take a break anyway. But the corresponding infrastructure would also be necessary for this. In a freight forwarder’s depot, however, an electric truck can also be charged with a lower output, for example overnight.
Source: Stern
