A22, the first 1000kW charging point for trucks

(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor)- One of the pillars of the Brenner Motorway's strategy has always been sustainability; a theme that is reflected in the various projects and initiatives that the motorway infrastructure has implemented over time. And it is precisely on this trajectory that the first 1MW recharging point for heavy vehicles, realised by Alpitronic, at the Firmian car park in Bolzano Sud is located. Inaugurated about a year ago, it is a first for the country and one of the first at European level as well. According to the latest available data, in the first seven months of operation the experimental site recorded over 800 recharging sessions.

The charging station is the first on the A22 specially designed for electric heavy goods vehicles. The Power Unit, consisting of eight modules with a total maximum power of 1 MW, is the beating heart of the charging station, powering the two installed dispensers. The advantages of ultra-fast charging for trucks are obvious: the maximum battery capacity of an electric truck can vary, depending on the model and manufacturer, b>between 300 kWh and 600 kWh. Obviously, the larger the batteries, the greater the range in terms of kilometres. But large batteries, unless you want to spend hours at the filling station, also require charging points of compliant power. The new Mcs (Megawatt Charging System) combines these two operational requirements and has been designed by Alpitronic precisely to respond to the timescales governing heavy traffic. Numbers in hand this means that to charge a lorry with a 500kWh battery with a charging power of up to 1000kW will take just half an hour and a potential range of 500 km, even if transported weight, gradients and other external factors may affect these numbers. With the same wear conditions and outside temperatures, these times are even halved compared to today. The new Mcs can therefore drastically reduce downtime by increasing the operational efficiency of the vehicle itself.

The presence of a power unit with 1000 kW output will allow the high-power recharging of three vehicles at the same time, over which the available 1000 kW will be distributed. This is thanks precisely to the collaboration of Alpitronic, which developed the charging system capable of supporting the Megawatt Charging System, and Autostrada del Brennero, which infrastructured the entire site, designing and setting up the medium-voltage cabin and low-voltage switchboards, the entire electrical distribution of the site, and the stalls. And it doesn't end there: the transformer installed by Autostrada del Brennero is 2,000 kVA and the system is therefore already prepared to accommodate a second 1 MW charging system in the future, doubling the station's capacity.