Gruber Logistics tests MCS hubs in Germany

What could scalable, energy-efficient megawatt charging hubs look like? The EU-funded project FLEXMCS brings together 15 actors from research and industry to develop the latter and overcome other obstacles in the way of a large-scale roll-out of EV infrastructure for electric trucks.

The project, which has the full name ‘Flexible Megawatt Charging Systems, open software architectures, and planning modules creating multi-charger hubs for the European electric mobility system’, is let by the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB). The above-mentioned 15 actors come from eight European countries. One of them is the German logistics company Gruber Logistics.

The latter says that its participation ‘ensures that the requirements of the logistics industry are optimally taken into account’. The company is also responsible for testing the megawatt charging point concept at the Karlsruhe site. This involves not only evaluating charging efficiency and energy savings, but also testing the scalability of systems with multiple charging connections and the integration of renewable energy sources.

“The switch to electric mobility is one of the biggest challenges facing the logistics industry. By participating in FLEXMCS, we can actively contribute to the progress of efficient charging infrastructures and accelerate the transformation. We are also applying our logistics expertise to technological innovations in European supply chain management in a targeted manner,” said Ettore Gualandi, Team Leader Sustainability & Eco-Innovation at Gruber Logistics.

Back to the project as a whole: FLEXMCS officially kicked off at the beginning of the year and will run until the end of June 2028. It has a total budget of 9.69 million euros.

The goal is the development of the above-mentioned charging hubs. The focus is on design and locations, as well as technical aspects. For instance, the hubs will offer mulitport chargers and smart charging management tools, to make them more energy efficient. They will also be powered by renewable energy to reduce the impact on the power grid.

Gruber Logistics adds: “They are not only expected to reduce CO2 emissions, but also cut operating costs for logistics companies. The planned megawatt chargers (MCS) with up to 1.2 megawatts of power should be able to fully charge ‘heavy truck’ during the 45-minute mandatory driver break.”

Source: information per e-mail; flexmcs.eu (project website)