MAN Achieves 3,000-Ampere Charging for Commercial Vehicles

MAN Truck & Bus, in collaboration with research partners within the NEFTON 3000 funding project, has successfully operated a 3,000-ampere high-current vehicle charging path on the test bench. This test setup lays the electrotechnical foundation for future charging capacities of up to three megawatts (MW) for battery-electric heavy-duty commercial vehicles.

Thermal Management and Hardware Integration
To realize electrical charging capacities in the multi-megawatt range, the current path was optimized for minimal electrical resistance to reduce the heat losses inevitably occurring at extremely high currents. The system architecture integrates active liquid cooling for cables, connectors, and vehicle-side distribution units to ensure that all high-voltage components operate within the permissible temperature window. In addition, electromechanical contactors and disconnect devices were specifically designed for high switching capacities and strict safety requirements during vehicle integration.

System Scaling and Battery Design
The test series at the Technical University of Munich and the Fraunhofer ISE provided detailed data on the thermal behavior and system architecture of the charging path. To transfer the targeted charging capacity of 3 MW into series production—which would enable charging times of 10 to 15 minutes for a 400 km range—the overall system requires a new generation of traction batteries. The cell chemistry, module design, and internal electrical interconnection of the battery packs must be fundamentally advanced to absorb such high currents without thermal overload or accelerated cell degradation.

Edited by Lekshman Ramdas, Induportals editor – adapted by AI.

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