2024-01-17 19:05:21
MAN and ABB E-mobility announce R&D cooperation
MAN, Europe’s leading commercial vehicle manufacturer, and ABB E-mobility have signed an exclusive cooperation agreement, the companies announced at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. The aim of the strategic partnership is for MAN and ABB E-mobility to work together even more closely, especially in the area of research and development.
MAN and ABB E-mobility sign cooperation agreement for technical collaboration
Thomas Nickels, Senior Vice President Engineering at MAN Truck & Bus, sees cooperation as a specialty in the market: “Cooperation in the area of research and development is quite rare in our industry. Together with ABB E-mobility, we are striving to establish a trustworthy, binding and transparent partnership. We are already starting with product and standards development and are focusing on the special requirements of the commercial vehicle industry.”
Megawatt Charging System (MCS) marks the beginning of strategic cooperation
The importance of cross-industry cooperation for the entire sector is particularly evident for the megawatt charging system (MCS), Nickels continued: “At MCS, we are working with players across the industry to enable charging capabilities in the megawatt range in the future. and therefore sustainable and economical long-distance transport of heavy goods and passengers. By cooperating with ABB E-mobility, we can address new technology challenges at an early stage and drive standardization faster.” These challenges include the ISO15118-20 communication standard and new ways of transmitting signals. The basis of MCS is Ethernet communication, which is being used for the first time in electromobility. Early software and interoperability testing with vehicles and charging stations should help establish reliable products as quickly as possible in an emerging market environment. That’s why the cooperation, which is initially scheduled to last three years, is focusing on customer experience from the start, in addition to internal development and further development of charging stations, vehicles and software.
The Cooperation will further focus on the needs of logistics customers
“High charging performance, reliable technology and customer confidence – these are the prerequisites for the success of electromobility in long-distance heavy load and passenger transport. By working together with MAN from the initial product phase, we can respond even better to our customers’ needs. By 2025, we want to bring to the market a product that meets the demands of logistics,” says Floris van de Klashorst, senior vice president of hardware products and platforms at ABB E-mobility.
“The market needs an ecosystem that interconnects and works reliably. This is why we want to jointly develop a concept for the interaction of MCS and CCS that addresses issues such as space, energy supply and network expansion. MAN’s extensive experience helps us develop customer-oriented solutions – both for use in the depot and on the track,” says van de Klashorst, giving an outlook on future projects.
The cooperation is not limited to logistics alone: “MCS will also be used in the future in the travel sector, for example for motorhomes and buses. This will bring additional challenges and a change in user behavior”, continues the head of development.
A MAN Truck & Bus
MAN Truck & Bus is one of Europe’s leading commercial vehicle manufacturers and transport solution providers, with an annual turnover of around 11 billion euros (2022). The product portfolio includes vans, trucks, buses, diesel and gas engines, as well as services for passenger and freight transport. Electric drive is already an integral part of the standard range of MAN buses and vans, and a comprehensive portfolio of series-produced electric trucks has been on sale since October 2023. Along with digitalization and automation in road freight transport, the transition to CO2-free driving is a key pillar of the NewMAN strategy for the future, with which the company is transforming itself from a manufacturer of commercial vehicles into a provider of intelligent and sustainable transport solutions by 2030. MAN Truck & Bus is a company of TRATON GROUP and employs around 33,000 people worldwide. www.man.eu
A ABB E-mobility
ABB E-mobility is enabling a more sustainable and resource-efficient mobility future as a global leader in electric vehicle (EV) charging solutions. ABB E-mobility is the partner of choice for the world’s largest EV OEMs and nationwide EV charging network operators. It offers the broadest portfolio of EV charging solutions, from smart chargers for home use to high-power chargers for the bus stations of the future, solutions for fleet electrification and charging of electric buses and trucks. With around 1,500 employees worldwide, ABB E-mobility has sold more than one million electric vehicle chargers in more than 85 markets, including more than 50,000 DC fast chargers. e-mobility.abb.com
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