WattEV, developer of medium- and heavy-duty truck charging depots, has partnered with the Charging Interface Initiative (CharIN) to finalize a new rapid-charging standard — the Megawatt Charging System (MCS) — that will enable heavy-duty electric trucks to fully charge in less than 30 minutes.
CharIN is an international association focused on establishing open and interoperable technical standards for electric vehicle charging
At a recent gathering at WattEV’s truck charging depot in San Bernardino, California, electric truck transport industry leaders continued their progress toward ongoing interoperability testing of vehicles and charging equipment.
WattEV is helping to deploy rapid-charging MCS technology, which will allow heavy-duty electric truck operators to reduce their charging “dwell time” from a couple of hours to the same time it takes to fill a diesel truck with liquid fuel. This allows zero-emission (ZE) trucks to compete head-to-head with legacy diesel truck fueling times.
“Reaching parity in refueling dwell time between ZE trucks and diesel trucks is critical to the successful transition of the truck transportation industry to zero emissions,” says Salim Youssefzadeh, CEO of WattEV. “These CharIN Testival events are essential in getting the industry together to forge a uniform interoperability for all charging standards and for all types of electric vehicles. We’re delighted to share our charging facilities with our industry colleagues to test charger/vehicle interoperability in real-world conditions and help move this process along as quickly as possible.”
“With the proliferation of new EV models and the introduction of two new charging standards — the North American Charging System (NACS) and MCS — there has never been a more important time for the industry to align and ensure EV drivers have an optimal charging experience,” adds Erika H. Myers, CharIN North America executive director. “We want to thank WattEV for hosting these critical testing events.”
The four-acre WattEV San Bernardino charging station is the most active of its five operating, publicly accessible ZE truck charging depots in Southern California. Some 15 more public ZE truck charging depots are under development now in California alone, with plans for a nationwide network in development.
WattEV is building electric truck stops along the Interstate 5, I-10 and I-15 corridors, all designed to enable long-haul trucking with MCS charging. Many feature solar arrays to supply grid-free, affordable power, and battery storage to ensure power is available when it’s needed.
The company, which also operates a zero-emission, HD truck transport company, has run more than a million ZE miles on its fleet of electric trucks. Its charging network of stations has enabled more than 20,000 charges.
