WattHub, the first charging station suitable for topping up electric trucks and coaches, has been launched on the A15 motorway in the Netherlands. The location features six transformer stations with a capacity of 600 kW each and 36 Kempower Satellites chargers, giving a continuous output of 100 kW per charger at maximum load (peak: 400 kW). The units are equipped with CCS connectors.
The first megastation for truck charging [and more]
The chargers, as the name says, are ‘satellites’, power terminals, so the small poles can offer from 25 up to 400 kW. Their management and power allocation is done in groups of six per transformer. It is easy to calculate that if the maximum amperage supported by a CCS connector is 500 amps, 400 kilowatts are achievable at 800 volts. Add that on other equipment the maximum is 350 kilowatts. There are sites for cars as well as trucks.
It’s a very long location. In the back (not easily visible in that photo, there are specific pull through spots ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/GbzNdhIgPa
— Felix Hamer • electricfelix (@electricfelix) October 14, 2023
If a Mercedes eActros 600 visited the station, it would be able to charge at maximum power, as long as the state of the cells allowed it. After a 30-minute standstill, it would gain around 190 kWh of energy, which corresponds roughly to a 160-kilometre range with a full charge. If the tractor had been fitted with an MCS connector and the chargers had sped up to 1,000 instead of 400 kW, the car would have topped up around 60 per cent of the battery (20 -> 80 per cent), corresponding to almost 300 kilometres of range.
All the equipment is powered by renewable energy, which is generated at a nearby wind farm and photovoltaic farm. The operator boasts that the location of the charging station on the A15 motorway, near the village of Geldermalsen, has connected the port of Rotterdam (Netherlands) to Germany. Judging by its proximity to Rotterdam, this will be more of a stopover for those heading towards the port, where they will be able to unload their trailers and reconnect their tractors.
