MAN said it had successfully carried out tests involving a stable charging current of 3,000 amperes and brought itself a step closer to recharging a truck for a range of 400km within 15 minutes.

The tests in Munich as part of the NEFTON 3000 funded project explored the interaction between vehicle and test bench infrastructure and was viewed as a major advance for megawatt charging of eHGVs.

To achieve this charging capacity, MAN said key components were newly designed, with the current path optimised to reduce electrical resistance.

Liquid cooling of cables, connectors and distribution units were also designed to ensure components all operated within permissible temperature ranges.

MAN cautioned that for charging capacities above one megawatt to become a reality, a new generation of batteries would first need to be developed, as well as infrastructure adjustments.

The NEFTON project consortium consists of MAN Truck & Bus, AVL, the Technical University of Munich, the Research Centre for Energy Economics, and Deggendorf Institute of Technology.

Chris Tindall started writing for the haulage and logistics industry in 2002 and quickly realised there was enough going on to keep him busy for a very long time.View full Profile

More from Chris Tindall