Mercedes-Benz Trucks: MCS Charging with 1,000 kW
Developers at Mercedes-Benz Trucks have for the first time charged a prototype of the eActros 600, which was introduced last year, at a charging station with a power output of one megawatt at the company's own development and testing center in Wörth am Rhein.
Rainer Müller-Finkeldei, Head of Product Engineering at Mercedes-Benz Trucks: “Our developers have brought the newly defined MCS standard into the vehicle with full charging power in the shortest amount of time – an outstanding engineering achievement. Customers with high demands for range and vehicle availability will particularly benefit from megawatt charging with 1,000 kW in the future.”
MCS Charging Standard with a Central Role
Mercedes-Benz Trucks was extensively involved in the development of the new, industry-wide applicable MCS charging standard. This standard plays a particularly central role for public charging along important traffic routes.
Peter Ziegler, Head of E-Charging Components, Mercedes-Benz Trucks: "The first successful charging test with a megawatt of power with our electric truck is an enormous developmental step. In the industry, a charging power starting from 700 kW is already referred to as MCS charging. However, it is important to us that our customers can charge the eActros 600 with a full 1,000 kW and thus benefit from short charging times with long range. We are now working flat out to bring the MCS technology in our eActros 600 to production maturity."
Further Development of MCS Technology for Series Production
In the further course, the development engineers at Mercedes-Benz Trucks are working on further testing the communication interface defined as part of the MCS standardization between the vehicle and the charging station and developing prototype components towards series production. The start of series production of the eActros 600 is planned for the end of 2024. In addition to CCS charging with up to 400 kW, the eActros 600 will also enable megawatt charging with a full 1,000 kW at a later date - as soon as it becomes available. Customers can order a pre-fitting for this. The MCS technology is expected to be retrofittable for these models.
Megawatt Charging Particularly Interesting for Public Charging Infrastructure
The high battery capacity of over 600 kWh – hence the model designation 600 – as well as a new self-developed electric drive axle, enable the eActros 600 to achieve a range of 500 km without intermediate charging. Thus, the electric truck can cover well over 1,000 km in a day. Intermediate charging during legally mandated driver breaks – even without megawatt charging – makes this possible.
What Does This Mean?
Approximately 60% of long-distance trips by Mercedes-Benz Trucks customers in Europe are already shorter than 500 km, so a charging infrastructure at the depot and at loading and unloading points is sufficient for these cases. For all other operations, the ongoing development of a public charging infrastructure is an essential prerequisite to make the electric truck fully operational for pan-European long-distance transport. It is precisely for such demanding applications that megawatt charging has great potential. In the new E.ON test center in Essen, e-commercial vehicles can also be charged with up to 1,100 kW of power.
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