Electricity for a range of hundreds of kilometers in just a few minutes or to fully charge a truck during a break: This is what so-called megawatt charging is supposed to make possible. The first stations in Europe opened in 2025. We’ll tell you how the technology works.
Being able to charge electric vehicles more quickly brings more travel comfort for cars and more economic efficiency for trucks in long-distance transport. To make this possible, there have been corresponding charging stations since February 2025 and even a new technical charging standard since the beginning of 2026: megawatt charging.
How does megawatt charging work?
Megawatt charging is defined as a charging capacity of 1,000 kilowatts or more. The so-called Megawatt Charging System (MCS) is a high-performance charging solution with the ability to deliver higher charging speeds than traditional Combined Charging Systems (CCS).
CCS solutions typically deliver between 50 and 400 kilowatts of DC power. However, this is often not enough, especially for battery-electric commercial vehicles such as trucks and buses. But MCS solutions have the potential to reach more than one megawatt. MAN sister company Scania describes the advantages of the technology:
Charging can occur during legally required rest periods, maximizing uptime. Faster charging also opens up new equipment options: shorter stops allow operators to choose smaller battery packs, increasing payload and improving overall productivity.
As quick as going to the toilet
In order to make the technology more tangible, ntv Megawatt charging in perspective: A charger with one megawatt could theoretically transmit 1,000 kilowatt hours in 60 minutes or 100 kilowatt hours in six minutes. This means that even the largest electric car batteries would be full in the time it takes a person to go to the toilet or take a coffee break.
But it’s not just the speed of charging that is enormous, but also the electrical power. At one megawatt, approximately as much electricity flows through a single cable as hundreds of households need together. Because the higher current must be handled safely, MCS needs its own connector.
Which manufacturers already offer megawatt charging?
When it comes to trucks, the choice is larger than the young standard suggests. MAN is already offering the fully electric models eTGX and eTGS for ordering with the MCS option; series start is planned for the second quarter of 2026. During a winter test in Sweden, an eTGX charged from 10 to 90 percent with around 750 kilowatts in around 30 minutes.
Mercedes-Benz Trucks is also testing: At the beginning of 2026, two MCS-capable eActros 600s completed a route of around 2,400 kilometers across Europe to test charging performance and compatibility with different charging stations.
Scania, MAN’s sister company in the Traton Group, is also starting at 750 kilowatts, but theoretically up to 3.75 megawatts are possible with the MCS plug.
Megawatt charging for cars: BYD starts in Germany
For cars, megawatt charging has long been considered a thing of the future, but that is currently changing. The Chinese manufacturer BYD installed its first flash charging station in Germany in June 2026. It is located in the Allgäu near the Iselerbahn.
According to BYD, the column is designed for up to 1,500 kilowatts, i.e. 1.5 megawatts. However, this information refers to the charging port for the Chinese market. The information provided so far leaves it unclear which performance will actually arrive in Europe. For comparison: Tesla’s current V4 superchargers reach a maximum of around 500 kilowatts.
In combination with BYD’s Blade Battery 2.0, compatible vehicles should charge from 10 to 70 percent in five minutes under ideal conditions and from 10 to 97 percent in around nine minutes.
MCS is still niche in the passenger car sector
However, there is a catch: So far only the Denza Z9GT, a model from the BYD premium brand, can use the technology in Europe. With its 122 kilowatt-hour battery, it has a range of up to 800 kilometers.
Even modern 800-volt vehicles such as the Porsche Taycan or the Mercedes CLA Electric are well below the targeted charging performance. According to the manufacturer, further BYD models with the new battery will not be available for around 18 to 24 months.
For the general public, 800-volt technology remains the standard for the time being, which over 20 models now use, from cheaper cars to Porsches and Mercedes. It enables up to 400 kilowatts, well below the megawatt limit.
What is the state of infrastructure in Europe?
According to a press release from E.ON, a network of megawatt chargers is being built along the most important transport routes in Europe. Around 330 MCS charging points are planned in the European Union at 55 locations in Germany, Austria, Denmark, Spain, France, the Netherlands, Sweden, Poland and Hungary by autumn 2028.
Each location is open to the public around the clock and the charging capacity is one megawatt. The charging network is being built by a consortium that includes E.ON, Voltix and GreenWay. The EU is funding it with more than 70 million euros.
BYD is also expanding massively. Like the company South China Morning Post announced that a total of 3,000 flash charging stations will be put into operation in Europe by the end of March 2027. During the same period, BYD plans to add 2,000 additional stations in North and South America and 1,000 in the Asia-Pacific region, for a total of 6,000 locations outside of China.
The group already operates around 7,000 flash charging stations on the Chinese mainland and wants to increase this number to 20,000 by the end of the year.
Criticism of megawatt charging for cars
While megawatt charging for trucks certainly has advantages, there is also criticism. Experts find the technology to be of little use, especially when it comes to passenger cars: currently hardly any model can accommodate such high performance.
In addition, the local network capacity would quickly be exhausted. BYD says it is countering this problem with buffer storage at every station: a battery charges slowly from the network and releases the energy at high power during the charging process.
In addition, high charging currents cause the battery to age more rapidly and are only available for a few minutes anyway. Even with the Denza Z9GT, initial practical tests show that a 400 kilowatt column is sufficient for very short charging times.
However, there is little concern that MCS could displace traditional CCS. At least Volvo Trucks expects both systems to remain available in parallel. However, there are hardly any real alternatives to megawatt charging.
Although battery replacement has become somewhat established, at least in China, there is a lack of users on the vehicle manufacturer side in Europe. There are tests with overhead line systems on motorways for trucks, but large-scale use does not seem likely.
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