Megawatt charging for trucks: the MCS standards are here — what changes for charger makers

#Why trucks need a new plug

CCS was designed for cars. A long-haul truck with a battery of 600 kWh or more needs far higher power to recharge during a driver’s legal rest break. The Megawatt Charging System (MCS), developed under the CharIN association since 2018, raises the limits to 3 000 A and 1 250 V at the vehicle — a theoretical 3.75 MW.

#The standards at a glance

Two points are still open. Bidirectional power transfer is under consideration in IEC 61851-23-3, and IEC TS 63379 is a Technical Specification — a full International Standard may follow after field experience (stability date 2028).

#What changes compared with CCS

• Current and cooling. Rated current depends on how cable, connector and vehicle inlet are cooled. Temperature monitoring with standardised sensing is part of the connector specification.
• Communication. MCS uses single-pair automotive Ethernet (10BASE-T1S) with ISO 15118-20 instead of power-line communication. Plug & Charge requires TLS 1.3.
• Metering. In Germany, public chargers need calibrated DC meters under calibration law. Few certified meters cover currents above 600 A today, so meter selection becomes a design question for MCS stations.

#Where the market stands

Megawatt charging is moving from pilots to products. MAN reported megawatt charging of its eTGX in Germany’s HoLa project, where a charge point delivers up to 1.2 MW, and planned series production of MCS-equipped trucks during 2026. In China, manufacturers pursue their own megawatt routes: BYD presented an electric truck with 1.5 MW charging in September 2026.

#What it takes to test an MCS charger

• Power and current sources of 3 000 A at 1 250–1 500 V — about six times the current of today’s CCS test setups.
• Thermal tests of connector and cable under continuous high current, with active cooling of the test setup.
• Insulation and protection tests at 1 500 V DC.
• EMC including the unshielded twisted-pair communication lines.
• Communication and interoperability with 10BASE-T1S protocol analysers instead of PLC tools.
• Metering accuracy across the full current range, where calibration law applies.

TSINGHU tests chargers up to 3.75 MW — the full MCS power range — including safety, EMC, interoperability and metrology, so MCS products can be verified before they go to the first fleet customers.