MAN Truck & Bus achieves milestone in Electric Truck Charging

Megawatt charging for electric trucks with up to 3000 kW Nefton supplies charging concepts for emission-free freight transport

Bavaria, Germany- MAN Truck & Bus., has achieved a milestone in electric truck technology. For the first time, an electric truck charged its batteries with over 1000 kilowatts and 1500 amps, gaining around 400 kilometers of range in just 30 minutes. This event, attended by the Bavarian State Minister for Economic Affairs, Regional Development and Energy, Hubert Aiwanger, the Chairwoman of the German Council of Economic Experts, Prof Monika Schnitzer, and around 200 other guests from politics, the media, business and science, was part of the presentation of the results of the NEFTON research project launched in 2021. In the project, which is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection, MAN Truck & Bus and the Technical University of Munich (TUM) as well as five other partners from science and industry analysed the system consisting of an all-electric truck, charging station and grid connection and designed it for various application scenarios. The focus is on the Megawatt Charging System (MCS) for ultra-fast charging of electric trucks during the driver's break or when loading and unloading at the ramp.

Dr. Frederik Zohm, Executive Board Member for Research and Development at MAN Truck & Bus, said, "With NEFTON, we have succeeded in developing technologies to charge e-trucks within a very short time and with a power output of over 1000 kW. Our research focussed on practicality, costs and grid connection power. Together with our project partners, we have clearly demonstrated that electric trucks and megawatt charging are the perfect combination for the comprehensive decarbonisation of road freight transport. The technology is there, now we need to drive forward the expansion of the charging infrastructure in the market in close cooperation with politicians, the energy industry and vehicle manufacturers."

With megawatt charging, electric trucks will become an emission-free alternative to today's diesel trucks in all common transport applications - including long-distance transport. Around 80% of all goods in Germany are transported by road. This means that road haulage accounts for the vast majority of greenhouse gas emissions in freight transport. Switching to zero-emission trucks is therefore a key lever for achieving the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement.

Prof Markus Lienkamp from the Chair of Automotive Engineering at TUM, who is leading the NEFTON project consortium, said, "The scientific facts speak for themselves: battery electric trucks have an efficiency of around 75%. Fuel cell trucks with an efficiency of only 26% and eFuels with an efficiency of just 14% are miles away from this. However, the infrastructure on the main transport routes is still lacking for the actual effective use of electric trucks. Megawatt charging technology is a huge step forward in this respect."

Hubert Aiwanger, Minister of State, said, "The research project shows: High-tech and expertise from Bavaria are shaping the mobility of the future. Such initiatives are gradually decarbonising logistics and freight transport, thereby also strengthening Bavaria as a business location. I would therefore like to thank everyone who has successfully participated in the NEFTON project. The Megawatt Charging System (MCS) in particular massively accelerates the charging times of trucks and is therefore a milestone for electromobility. MAN has already proven the practicality of this technology and played a key role in its standardisation. We are also taking MCS technology into account in our current funding programme. In the first round, we are financing 86 charging points for road freight transport, and the next funding call is due to start in late autumn. Together with our hydrogen funding, this programme stands for the Bavarian state government's openness to technology in mobility." 

Nefton's research emphasizes the need for public fast-charging infrastructure to support electric trucks, recommending stations with up to 1 MW every 50 km for long-distance travel. MAN Truck & Bus is advancing this by partnering with E.ON to install 400 charging points across Europe and joining Milence to build 1,700 more.