Milence opens first megawatt chargers in port of Antwerp

Milence, the joint venture between Europe’s largest truckmakers created to develop the fast-charging network for battery-electric trucks, has deployed its first two chargers using the Megawatt Charging System (MCS) standard. Belgium has the honor, as these MCS chargers can be found at the Ketenis truck stop in the port of Antwerp.

The Megawatt Charging System (MCS) is one of the key factors for the mass adoption of battery-electric heavy trucks in road transport. With theoretical charging speeds of up to 3.75 MW (3,750 kW), even the largest truck batteries can be recharged during mandatory rest times, practically doubling an electric truck’s range. The current Combined Charging System (CCS) standard is limited to around 400 kW, or just over a tenth of MCS.

First MCS charger for Milence

MCS technology has been in the test phase for the last couple of years and is now starting to be deployed in the real world. Milence, the joint venture between major European truck manufacturers Daimler Truck (Mercedes-Benz Trucks), the Traton Group (MAN, Scania), and Volvo Group (Volvo Trucks, Renault Trucks), has now deployed its first two MCS chargers in the port of Antwerp.

The megawatt chargers can be found at Truck Parking Ketenis, on the west side of the port of Antwerp, near the Liefkenshoek tunnel. Power Electronics, a U.S. company specialising in energy solutions, developed the chargers, which offer a combined maximum output of 2.8 MW or 1.44 MW (at 1,000 V and 1,500 A) per charging point.

70 more locations coming in the next two years

This charging power will enable electric trucks with even the highest battery capacity, such as the Mercedes eActros 600 (also present at the official opening of the Milence MCS station), to recharge their batteries in around 30 minutes.

But the Ketenis megawatt charging point is only the first of many. Milence wants to deploy at least 284 MCS charging points across 71 locations in 10 EU countries by 2027, following the main road transport corridors. The hub near Antwerp was also chosen strategically, as it is the starting point for a lot of traffic going from Antwerp to Stockholm and the major cargo hubs in between.