European vehicle manufacturer MAN Truck & Bus has signed an exclusive cooperation agreement with ABB E-mobility to work together even more closely, particularly in the area of R&D.

“Cooperation in the area of research and development is rather rare in our industry,” said Thomas Nickels, Senior VP of Engineering at MAN. “Together with ABB E-mobility, we 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.”

The Megawatt Charging System (MCS) will be a particular focus of cooperation, says Nickels. “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. By cooperating with ABB E-mobility, we can tackle the challenges of the new technology at an early stage and drive standardization forward more quickly.”

These challenges include the ISO15118-20 communication standard and new ways of transmitting signals. The basis for MCS is Ethernet communication. The companies will cooperate on software and interoperability tests with vehicles and charging stations in order to help establish reliable products as quickly as possible in an emerging market environment.

“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,” says Floris van de Klashorst, Senior VP Products and Hardware Platforms at ABB E-mobility. “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,” says van de Klashorst. “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.”

Source: ABB E-mobility