In early 2024, Vital EV plans to deliver its Kempower megawatt charging solution, becoming one of the first megawatt charging stations in the UK. The system can provide up to 1.2MW (1,200kW) of charging power, suitable for fast charging electric HGVs. The company anticipates around 372 miles of range can be added in 30 minutes.
This announcement comes after Vital EV installed the UK’s fastest EV chargers at 400kW in Bedfordshire and the UK’s largest electric truck charging depot in London. The new system is based on existing hub-and-spoke architecture The kempower satellite charger system is fairly small with a footprint of less than 0.25m². Two kempower power units couple up to accommodate up to 24 50kW power modules. Power is distributed to liquid-cooled satellite chargers which are fitted with new MCS plugs.
Alex Rae, general manager and director at Vital EV, said: “Decarbonising the truck industry is crucial for the UK’s net-zero strategy and we are delighted to be among the first to market with a viable charging solution for overnight, destination and en-route applications.
“With our background in industrial power engineering and a range of groundbreaking EV charging projects already under our belt, we are ideally placed to deliver critical MCS infrastructure projects and we look forward with excitement to working with the truck industry to make that fundamental switch to electric.”
Fewer than 1-in-100 newly-registered trucks are electric, so Vital EV plans to build out a charging network to support battery electric trucks. The MCS plug is designed to deliver the highest charging power to quickly charge heavy-duty vehicles. There is currently no requirement to change CCS2 connectors used in lighter EVs like cars and vans.
The chargers will be monitored using Vital EV’s Occulus charging management portal. This will facilitate planned and reactive maintenance alongside over-the-air updates to maximise charger uptime.
