The Megawatt Charging Normal (MCS) formalized simply final summer season will pave the way in which for extra electrical huge rigs on the expense of hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles, an electric-truck marketing consultant predicts.
Enthusiasm for hydrogen fuel-cell passenger vehicles has largely performed out, and megawatt charging will do the identical for fuel-cell vehicles, Rustam Kocher, former Charging Infrastructure Lead at Daimler Vehicles North America, and now a marketing consultant, stated in a latest interview with Charged EVs.
Kocher just isn’t optimistic about hydrogen, saying it is major goal is to be “a method that the oil and gasoline business can keep related.” Hydrogen might make the most of fossil-fuel business knowhow as a result of it may be pumped via pipelines and saved in tanks like oil and pure gasoline, Kocher famous, however stated hydrogen gasoline cells are much less environment friendly than batteries and “extraordinarily costly.”
Electrical Island – Daimler Vehicles North America and PGE – Portland OR
“Massive Oil’s acquired numerous sources and cash to push this narrative” concerning the promise of hydrogen, Kocher stated. However he believes megawatt charging will “put a bullet in hydrogen” by matching its fast refueling time, which he views as hydrogen’s solely potential benefit.
“With MCS, it is the identical pace,” he stated. “In actual fact, it is perhaps quicker, so hydrogen can go pound salt.”
When introduced final summer season, MCS was stated to supply a “affordable” cost time for Class 6, 7, and eight business automobiles. These automobiles are anticipated to make use of very massive battery packs, requiring rather more energy for fast charging than the 350 kw that is at the moment the higher finish for the Mixed Charging Normal (CCS) utilized by passenger vehicles.
Electrical Island – Daimler Vehicles North America and PGE – Portland OR
MCS goals to ship quick charging a package deal that, very like CCS, permits for charging stations to be suitable with automobiles from totally different producers. Even Tesla, which went its personal method with passenger-car quick charging, has confirmed megawatt charging tech for each the Cybertruck and Semi, but it surely hasn’t signed on for the usage of the cumbersome MCS connector.
Megawatt charging stations for vehicles current harder challenges for siting than these designed for passenger vehicles, nevertheless, as a result of they not solely must make room for greater vehicles however be at a degree within the grid that may assist an influence stage of 10 MW or extra.
WattEV electrical truck cease rendering
One of many first such stations is Portland’s Electrical Island website, developed by Daimler Vehicles North America (Kocher’s former employer) and utility Portland Basic Electrical. One other template will be the electrical truck cease deliberate by startup WattEV in Bakersfield, California, aiming for 40 charging stalls and 25 MW of solar-supplemented charging.
Maybe extra complicated although is that firms which have championed MCS—like Daimler Vehicles—are additionally investing in hydrogen fueling. So it is honest to say the warfare between these applied sciences is not anyplace close to over but.