Mercedes-Benz Trucks Developers Test Megawatt Charging

Developers from Mercedes-Benz Trucks successfully charged for the first time a prototype of the eActros 600 at a charging station with an output of one megawatt at the in-house development and testing center in Wörth am Rhein, Germany.

Mercedes-Benz Trucks was thoroughly involved in developing the new, industry-wide MCS charging standard. MCS plays a central role in public charging along important transportation routes.

“Our developers have put the newly defined MCS Standard into the e-truck in the shortest of times with full charging capacity – an outstanding feat of engineering,” said Rainer Müller-Finkeldei, head of Mercedes-Benz Trucks product engineering.  “Customers placing high demands on range and vehicle availability will benefit in particular from megawatt charging at 1,000 kilowatts in the future.”

Within the industry, a charging capacity of more than 700 kilowatts is already known as MCS charging, explained Peter Ziegler, head of e-charging components, Mercedes-Benz Trucks.

“We, however, understand the importance of our customers being able to charge the eActros 600 at a full 1,000 kilowatts and thus benefit from short charging times with a long range,” said Ziegler. “We are working at full speed to take the MCS technology in our eActros 600 to series maturity.”

Mercedes-Benz Trucks development engineers will continue testing the communications interface between the vehicle and charging station, defined as part of MCS standardization, and ongoing development of prototype components to series maturity.

The launch 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 later enable megawatt charging at a full 1,000 kilowatts, once it becomes available. Customers can order a pre-installation or MCS technology can be retrofitted.

Charging Infrastructure at Loading and Unloading Locations

The eActros’ high battery capacity of more than 600 kilowatt hours – hence the model designation 600 – and a new, particularly efficient electric drive axle developed in-house, enable the truck to achieve a range of 500 kilometers without intermediate charging. This means the e-truck will be able to travel significantly more than 1,000 kilometers per day. This is made possible by intermediate charging during the legally prescribed driver breaks, even without megawatt-charging.

Around 60% of long-distance journeys for Mercedes-Benz Trucks customers in Europe are shorter than 500 kilometers anyway, which means a charging infrastructure at the depot and at the loading and unloading points is sufficient in such cases. For all other uses, continual expansion of public charging infrastructure is vital in to make the electric truck viable for long-distance haulage across Europe.