Kempower MCS Launches at Fleet Depots in Sweden and California
- EVs Fleet & Depot Charging Product
Marin Holt
- 0
- 8 minutes read
- Kempower deployed first commercial MCS protocol charging at Alfredsson Transport depot in Norrkoping, Sweden; inaugurated January 2026 with 1.2 MW capacity for MAN, Scania, and Volvo trucks
- Kempower announced first North American MCS site in San Bernardino, California for a fleet operator serving the Southern California Logistics Airport corridor
- MCS standard supports up to 3.75 MW per vehicle; the San Bernardino site is designed to support sub-45-minute charging for Class 8 battery-electric trucks
- Southern California Edison is the serving utility for the San Bernardino site; CAISO market rules apply for any grid services the site may provide
- Both sites use Kempower satellite architecture: a central 1.2 MW power unit distributes power to multiple vehicle-side charging satellites
Kempower deployed the first commercial Megawatt Charging System (MCS) installations at fleet depots in Sweden and announced its first North American MCS site in San Bernardino, California. The January 2026 inauguration at Alfredsson Transport’s depot in Norrköping, Sweden demonstrated 1.2 MW charging for heavy-duty trucks from MAN, Scania, and Volvo in sub-zero temperatures.
What Is Being Built
The Alfredsson Transport depot features 12 charging points delivering 400 kW to 1.2 MW per stall for vehicles up to 34 meters long. The site connects to a 2.4 MW grid feed, backed by 2.4 MWh of on-site battery storage and a 400 kW solar panel array. Alfredsson Transport, a logistics company operating since 1937, committed to a fossil-free fleet starting in 2015.
In California, EV Realty broke ground in September 2025 on a 76-stall truck charging hub near the San Bernardino Intermodal Facility. The site will include two Kempower MCS dispensers, the first in North America, and serve more than 200 Class 8 trucks daily. It will be the largest grid-connected MCS charging site in the United States.
Why This Matters
Heavy-duty electric trucks carry 200 to 600 kWh batteries. A single truck draws the same power during charging as an entire big-box retail store. Scaling to 50 or 100 trucks at a depot requires megawatts of capacity, and most commercial sites lack the grid connection to support that load without major upgrades.
MCS solves the time problem. At 1.2 MW, a 600 kWh battery reaches 80% charge in roughly 30 minutes instead of four hours on a 150 kW DC fast charger. For fleet operators running two or three shifts, that difference determines whether trucks sit idle or earn revenue. TRATON Group, the parent company of MAN and Scania, declared MCS “a fully functional and high-performing solution” after the Norrköping tests.
Implementation Details
Grid upgrades, utility coordination, permitting, and electrical construction take 12 to 18 months from planning to energization. Level 2 chargers cost $3,500 to $7,500 per port, DC fast chargers range from $50,000 to $350,000, and MCS-class equipment adds further cost at the megawatt scale. Smart charging management that staggers loads and charges during off-peak hours reduces electricity costs by up to 40%.
The federal 30C charging infrastructure tax credit covers 30% of costs up to $100,000 per site but expires June 30, 2026. California’s HVIP program provides up to $60,000 per heavy-duty electric truck. MAN, Scania, and Volvo Trucks confirmed they will roll out vehicles with both MCS and CCS charging inlets during 2026, establishing MCS as the standard for heavy-duty depot operations.
Critical Perspective
The article highlights 1.2 MW charging at a Swedish fleet depot. This is comparable to the 1.5 MW charging planned for the Nikola Tre FCEV pilot program. The California Air Resources Board’s Advanced Technology Demonstration program in 2010 promised similar fleet electrification but faced significant grid integration challenges. Will these megawatt chargers actually deliver reliable charging at scale without crippling grid infrastructure?
