The Megawatt Opportunity: The business case for unlocking the electric truck transition
The next half a year will mark the start of an electric heavy goods vehicle (eHGV) revolution, with a number of manufacturers bringing new, advanced models to the market during early 2026.
The delivery and medium-haul market has so far had a number of capable eHGV options, albeit in low volumes, but this year the electrification of long-haul trucking will be unlocked as a number of hyper-fast-charging long-range models are released. These are the very first e-trucks to reach the market with megawatt charging compatibility, capable of charging at power levels well over 1,000kW with a fast enough recharge time to carry out long-haul journeys without incurring additional delays.
The benefits of electrification are clear: lower carbon emissions and the elimination of other exhaust emissions like nitrogen oxides and particulate matter, as well as big cuts in noise pollution. Drivers are also often finding eHGVs to be easier and more relaxing to drive.
So, the trucks are almost here, but what about the charging infrastructure?
The EV charging industry has been powering electric trucks for several years now. In many cases, this has come as part of pilots and trials, but the market has progressed steadily and the charging technology needed to electrify all eHGV journeys is now ready and available, with best practices already having been fine-tuned.
In recent years, existing charging technology has facilitated the charging of eHGVs in as little as two hours. This has meant that delivery and medium-haul logistics journeys, which allow for charging overnight or during rest or idle periods, have already begun to transition to electric on a considerable scale. Long-haul journeys, however, can see drivers on the road for several days without returning to the home depot and must keep to strict schedules to ensure operational efficiency. With drivers only legally obliged to take rest stops of as little as 45 minutes, a solution that facilitates full charging during a similar window of time supports the continuation of existing duty cycle scheduling and, therefore, return on investment for logistics firms looking to transition their long-haul fleet.
The development of the megawatt charging system (MCS), supported by other high-powered CCS charging options reaching up to 560kW, is now making this a reality and, thus, enabling the electrification of long-haul trucking. It’s the charging solution that goes hand-in-hand with the new MCS-enabled long-range eHGVs that are imminently arriving to the e-mobility market this year, unlocking 45-minute and under recharging times. The truth is, though, that megawatt charging is nothing radically new from a technical perspective. The technology has been in development since around 2018 and is already being rolled out in pilot projects across Europe.
MCS charging has been developed almost simultaneously with MCS e-trucks, with both reaching market readiness at roughly the same time. In fact, taking MCS chargers from concept to reality hasn’t been a particularly long process, despite their huge impact. Why? Because charging OEMs haven’t had to reinvent the wheel with this technology. For instance, Kempower’s MCS achieves greatly increased charging powers by using its existing tried-and-tested Kempower Power Units as building blocks to combine the available power.
Of course, other technical hurdles needed to be overcome during the development phase: the extreme power demand of MCS needed to be supported by the development of more advanced cooling systems to handle the high thermal output, more sophisticated electronics, and further development of battery technologies.
Nevertheless, the challenge is no longer bringing this technology to market readiness. It now lies in taking the infrastructure from conception to mainstream adoption.
E-trucks and on-route high-powered charging: What comes first?
What came first, the chicken or the egg?
This age-old conundrum has fascinated generations and become a metaphor for situations where it’s unclear which of two events must occur first to set the other in motion. It’s a common phenomenon in technology and infrastructure – without sufficient infrastructure, people will hesitate to adopt the tech, but without enough consumers adopting the tech, providers will hesitate to invest in the infrastructure.
While MCS technology is now developed and capable of electrifying long-haul truck journeys, we face the risk of a typical ‘chicken-and-egg’ narrative unfolding.
On-site charging in depots will play a vital part in transitioning long-haul trucking, but fortunately logistics companies can invest in the infrastructure in step with their own investment into the vehicles – they can guarantee utilization of the depot chargers because they know the size and operational schedules of their e-truck fleets.
The real challenge comes with developing a network of public ultra-high powered infrastructure to cater for those quick bursts of MCS charging during the shortest legal breaks. In order for logistics companies to invest in these new e-trucks for their long-haul operations, the ultra-high powered charging infrastructure must be readily available, at scale, along logistics routes – something that is not currently in place. On the other hand, from the perspective of public truck charging operators, it understandably may feel a business risk to invest in MCS infrastructure when the uptake of MCS e-trucks is still in the very early stages.
This doesn’t need to be a stand-off, though. It’s possible, realistic and business-sensible for public, on-route charging operators to expand their offerings to fill the current gap in truck charging options, and to do so now.
MCS and public charging operators: The case for early investment
Public charging operators may be apprehensive to place their bets ahead of the curve and invest in a brand new charging technology, but the most advanced ultra-high powered charging infrastructure on the market today is designed to remove the business risks by increasing utilisation. Like all EV charging, truck charging has natural peaks and troughs in demand, especially while MCS-enabled e-trucks are gradually adopted by logistics companies for the first time.
However, charging operators have access to distributed MCS solutions which:
- are already available on the market
- can dynamically shift the power output between charging outlets depending on the power demands of each vehicle
- can deliver up to a megawatt of power but also deliver lower levels too, facilitating charging in both next-generation MCS e-trucks and the existing, lower-powered e-trucks already on the road in higher numbers
- can coexist with the existing charging standard, combined charging system (CCS), during the transition period as the power can also be shared between different types of plugs
So, investing in the infrastructure early doesn’t have to mean waiting around for income as MCS trucks are adopted on a mass scale – charging operators can be making a return on their investment from day one.
Operators are also empowered to provide charging both for e-truck drivers on their shortest minimum breaks of 45 minutes and drivers on their longer overnight stops of up to 11 hours. These longer charging stops will naturally require a lower amount of power as the trucks have a much longer period to fully recharge, much unlike the 45-minute scenario. Distributed charging allows operators to use the same system and power units to supply charging for both scenarios, with the highest powers being dynamically delivered to the vehicles that need it most urgently and charging times being optimised across the board.
At large truck charging stations, the flexibility of new systems allows operators to serve these distinct charging needs efficiently as, even when a single power unit is used, short-stay and long-stay bays can remain separated. What’s more is that, by choosing modular infrastructure, operators can add to their charging systems over time as MCS trucks become even more commonplace on our roads.
Unlocking the megawatt opportunity
There’s no doubt that there is a feeling of pressure coming from the industry as those championing MCS look to public charging operators to take what seems like a leap of faith. Nevertheless, MCS infrastructure, when developed with market-leading technical characteristics like distributed charging and modularity, can be integrated into public truck charging sites now, without a need for operators to wait for returns on their investment.
These flexible systems allow operators to generate income from existing trucks straight away, while at the same time readying themselves for the next wave of e-trucks on the horizon as MCS becomes the new standard. The new potential growth that will come from this is huge, and charging operators stand to benefit significantly from this by buying into the movement.
On-route megawatt charging holds the key to fully enabling the long-haul trucking transition needed by the logistics industry – one that allows firms to fulfil their sustainability goals whilst continuing to run a profitable, time-efficient operation.
We’re proud to say that megawatt charging is officially here, but the technology coming to market is just the start of what’s needed to deliver a complete transition. We’re closer than ever to 100% electrification of trucking in the UK, but the final stretch will be the toughest yet, with coordinated participation needed from a broad range of stakeholders.
The megawatt opportunity is unprecedented, but only with bold action and collaboration will we realise the full potential.
Discover how Kempower’s charging solutions can help you electrify your trucks faster.
Written by
Gareth Sutcliffe
Sales Manager, Fleets, Kempower