Electrification of commercial vehicles calls for significantly greater charging capacities to achieve the desired short charging times in this segment. The CharIN (Charging Interface Initiative) non-profit organisation has been working on this problem since 2018 and has been forging ahead in collaboration with numerous international partners. The Megawatt Charging System (MCS) that emerged from this is to provide power at up to 3.75MW (max. 3,000A/max. 1,250V) in its final stage of development.
Challenges for megawatt charging: technology, handling and thermal energy.
The demands on connectors, sockets and cable systems are huge at such currents and require a broad understanding of electrical, thermal and safety-related correlations. In terms of the
infrastructure, handling of the system is one of the most important development objectives. One person must be comfortably able to plug the charging cable’s connector into the charging
socket. In terms of the vehicle, the system‘s weight and efficiency play a primary role. In both parts of an MCS the components must be actively cooled to meet the requirements.
Indirect cooling, efficient distribution and coolant for the charging socket
LEONI has applied its experience in the CCS segment to provide cable solutions for the demands of the future. Its latest developments of charging cables for charging infrastructure comprise concepts with direct and indirect cooling, which in their final stage are suitable for currents up to 3,000A. These cables furthermore take into account all the normative requirements and thus assure the charging station operator of maximum safety.
For the vehicle, LEONI has developed a lightweight and highperforming system with a cooled LEONI Hivocar® COOL high-voltage cable that is capable of safely and efficiently distributing high currents in the vehicle without having to fall back on heavy busbar solutions that also require a lot of installation space. It furthermore makes it easier to actively cool the charging socket as it can be directly supplied with a coolant by the high-voltage cable.
