The truck maker is focusing on research and development with its e-mobility partner
MAN Truck & Bus and ABB E-mobility have signed an exclusive cooperation agreement.
Thomas Nickels, MAN senior vice president engineering, says both parties are striving for a trusting, binding and transparent partnership.
“We are already starting with the development of products and standards and are focusing on the special requirements of the commercial vehicle industry,” he says.
The importance of cross-industry cooperation for the entire sector is particularly evident for megawatt charging system (MCS).
“At MCS, we are working with players from the entire sector to enable charging capacities in the megawatt range in the future and thus sustainable and economical long-distance heavy goods and passenger transport,” Nickels says.
“By cooperating with ABB E-mobility, we can tackle the challenges of the new technology at an early stage and drive standardisation forward more quickly.”
These challenges include the ISO15118-20 communication standard and new ways of transmitting signals. The basis for megawatt charging is Ethernet communication, which is being used for the first time, according to MAN, in electromobility.
Early software and interoperability tests with vehicles and charging stations should help to establish reliable products as quickly as possible in an emerging market environment.
This is why the cooperation, which is initially scheduled to run for three years, is focusing on the customer experience right from the start, in addition to the internal development and further development of charging stations, vehicles and software.
“High charging performance, reliable technology and customer confidence – these are the prerequisites for the success of electromobility in heavy goods and long-distance passenger transport,” ABB E-mobility senior vice president products & hardware platforms Floris van de Klashorst says.
“By working together with MAN right from the early product phase, we can respond even better to the needs of our customers. By 2025, we want to bring a product to the market that meets the requirements of logistics.
“The market needs an ecosystem that interlocks and works reliably. That’s why we want to jointly develop a concept for the interaction of MCS and CCS that addresses issues such as space, energy supply and grid expansion.
“MAN’s extensive expertise helps us to develop customer-oriented solutions – both for use in the depot and on the track.”
In addition to logistics, the cooperation will also extend to the tracel sector including motorhomes and coaches.