Fast charging of batteries reaches new milestone
Designwerk has achieved a charging capacity of over 1 megawatt for electric lorries in a demonstration test during fast charging. The test under real conditions clears a hurdle for the successful long-distance use of the lorries.
Designwerk Technologies AG, based in Winterthur, has achieved a charging capacity of over 1 megawatt in a fast-charging test of a lorry battery under real-life conditions. This success means that fast charging of large batteries for electric lorries is now a reality and the hurdle for long-distance transport has been overcome, according to a press release.
The test took place under real-life conditions at the depot of the motorway VI service area in Oberbüren. A peak output of 1140 kilowatts was achieved. This is 8 per cent more than the specification of 1050 kilowatts. It took 42 minutes to fully charge a 1000-kilowatt battery from 10 to 80 per cent. With this charge, a 40-tonne electric truck can cover a distance of more than 500 kilometres. The required charging time is within the time frame of legally prescribed breaks for the driver.
“Thanks to Mega Charging, a 40-tonne truck charges as quickly as an electric car – only with significantly more power,” Niels Ross, Project Manager Charging Technology at Designwerk, is quoted as saying in the press release. “This is the key to electrifying heavy goods transport.”
The use of electric trucks can save thousands of tonnes of CO2 every year. In Switzerland, registrations of battery-electric trucks rose by 41.2 per cent in the first two quarters of 2025 compared to the same period in the previous year, according to the press release.