Two converging trends are set to blow the heavy-duty EV charging scene wide open: charging hubs for electric trucks are starting to open to the public, most of them clustered around Southern California’s busy ports; and the Megawatt Charging System (MCS) is nearing the completion of its standardization process, and is starting to appear in commercial implementations.
Heavy-duty EV charging pioneer WattEV has just opened a charging hub in Bakersfield, California, featuring MCS chargers capable of delivering up to 1.2 megawatts of power, along with solar panels and battery backup.
As Zev Lane reports, the new site offers 14 dual-cord 360 kW chargers, 18 single-cord 240 kW chargers and 3 single-cord MCS 1.2 MW chargers. Amenities for drivers include public restrooms and vending machines, and there’s an attendant on site 24/7.
The MCS chargers are grid-islanded and are powered by 5 MW of on-site solar (which WattEV intends to expand to 25 MW) and 3 MWh of battery backup. WattEV was awarded a grant from the California Energy Commission to create the grid-islanded system.
As yet, there are no MCS-capable trucks, so WattEV’s MCS setup is a sort of near-commercial pilot project at this stage—or perhaps it’s better described as a future-proofing feature. Opponents of electrification (specifically the folks we call the “Let’s wait a while” crowd) frequently cite a lack of suitable charging infrastructure as a reason not to electrify. As more heavy-duty charging hubs open up in California’s logistics district and other similar regions in Europe, that excuse will soon wear thin.
WattEV’s charging hubs are publicly available either through memberships or by scanning a credit card or QR code at the site. The company also offers a truck-as-a-service model at a set monthly price.