The Megawatt charging standard (MCS) which was formalized last summer will pave the way for more large electric rigs to replace hydrogen fuel cell trucks, an electric trucking consultant predicts.
Rustam Kocher, former Director of Charging Infrastructure at Daimler Trucks North America, and now a consultant, says enthusiasm for hydrogen fuel cell passenger cars has largely been on display and charging megawatts will do the same for fuel cell trucks. Charged electric car.
Kocher isn’t positive about hydrogen, saying its main purpose is “a way the oil and gas industry can stay relevant.” Kocher notes that hydrogen could use fossil fuel industry know-how because it can be pumped through pipes and stored in reservoirs like oil and natural gas, but says hydrogen fuel cells are poor. more efficient than batteries and “extremely expensive”.
Electric Island – Daimler Trucks North America and PGE – Portland OR
“Big Oil has a lot of resources and money to push this story forward,” says Kocher of the promise of hydrogen. But he believes megawatt charging will “put a bullet in the hydrogen” by matching its quick refueling times, which he sees as hydrogen’s only potential advantage.
“With MCS, it’s the same speed,” he said. “Actually, it can be faster, so hydrogen can crush salt.”
When announced last summer, the MCS was supposed to provide “reasonable” charging times for Class 6, 7 and 8 commercial vehicles. These vehicles are expected to use battery packs. very large, more power is required for fast charging than the 350 kW currently the highest for the Combined Charging Standard (CCS) used by passenger cars.
Electric Island – Daimler Trucks North America and PGE – Portland OR
MCS aims to provide a fast charging package that, like CCS, allows charging stations to be compatible with vehicles of different manufacturers. Even Tesla, which has gone its own way with fast charging for passenger cars, has confirmed the megawatt charging technology for both Cybertruck and Semibut it’s not logged in to use the clunky MCS connector.
However, megawatt truck charging stations present more difficult challenges to locating than those designed for passenger cars, because they need not only make room for trucks. larger, but also at a point in the grid that can support a capacity level of 10 MW or more.
Rendering stops rendering WattEV electric truck
One of the first such stations was Portland’s Power Island Location, developed by Daimler Trucks North America (Kocher’s former company) and the electric power company Pacific Gas & Electric. Another template could be the electric truck stop planned by startup WattEV in Bakersfield, California, which aims to have 40 charging stations and 25 MW solar additional charging.
Perhaps more puzzling, however, are the companies that have backed MCS—like a Daimler truck—is also investing in hydrogen fuel. So it’s fair to say the battle between these technologies isn’t over yet.
