Nuertingen – hofer powertrain, a development and technology partner for the global automotive industry, has unveiled a new megawatt charging concept that could revolutionize the e-mobility age. The company has filed patents for the new technology, which aims to increase charging capabilities for faster, more efficient, and more convenient journeys for electric vehicles.
The new megawatt charging infrastructure allows vehicles to be flexibly recharged via the overhead catenary system on any highway. Unlike conventional continuous overhead line concepts, the new concept consists of short megawatt charging sections. Vehicles can operate on battery power independently of these sections at any time. The overhead charging is implemented via external DC/DC chargers, which transfer the energy directly to the vehicle while driving along the highway. Vehicles are also optimally prepared for the charging process before reaching the charging section, which ensures that the maximum possible battery charging energy will be available in the corresponding overhead line section.
The overhead catenary voltage depends on the state of charge of the vehicle battery (SOC), which ranges from 600 V up to 1,250 V. The length of the overhead charging section is variable and depends on the required charging energy per vehicle and the number of cars to be charged. According to the latest calculations of the battery team, the charging power can reach up to 3,000 A or 3.75 MW. All vehicles moving within a catenary section can be charged and simultaneously use electrical power for traction. At the same time, vehicles can only use electric power for driving, whereby the e-motor power of about 200-500 kW provides pure EV operation in all road and weather conditions. Multiple charging modes allow individual reactions to different traffic volumes.
Current estimations suggest that charging times for commercial vehicles and trucks on highways can be reduced by up to 90%. The concept also offers a second charging option with a standardized, compatible CCS or MCS charging plug. This means that vehicles can also be charged, for example, in charging parks at service stations and logistics centers or customers’ logistics areas.
hofer powertrain’s new megawatt charging concept offers a cost-efficient improvement of electric mobility for commercial transport vehicles such as delivery services and commercial applications. In addition to human-operated vehicles, this flexible and consistently available charging alternative holds great potential for autonomous operations.
“We challenge the status quo by rethinking concepts to achieve greater economic efficiency, innovation, value, and sustainability,” says Gerold Sluka, adding that the company’s resources and energy focus on technologies with a real future, where every evaluation and decision is based on strong test results, multi-stage simulations, and valuable experiences from real customer projects.
