Automated EV charging specialist Rocsys is setting its sights on a charging solution for heavy-duty vehicles. To do this, the Delft-based charging expert has announced it’s teaming up with automated high-power vehicle inlet supplier Grivix and charging test and validation partner VDL ETS to develop a robotic charging solution for electronic trucks and buses. With support from the Eurostars project Autocharge, which is part of the EU’s Horizon 2020 initiative, collaborators aim to enable a fully automated fast-charging process of batteries for electronic heavy-duty vehicles, capable of handling higher MW+ powers.
The consortium will start validation tests with the first samples, including parking guidance and self-opening flaps, later this year. The implications of high-power charging will be investigated, and new technology will be developed to offer the highest possible plug charging power with an automated connection. Depending on the standardization committees’ developments, a solution for automated megawatt charging services is expected from 2022 onwards.