Brennerautobahn and Alpitronic put megawatt charging system into operation in Bolzano

Alpitronic only presented its megawatt solution in mid-February. A good two months later, Ionity was the first charging station operator to announce that it would procure the megawatt charging system and equip the first locations with it this year – with a focus on fast charging for electric cars. However, the first charging park with the HYC1000 system has now gone into operation in the Italian city of Bolzano (South Tyrol) – Alpitronic’s company location.

The charging park, which was built primarily for charging electric trucks, is located in the Firmian car park on the A22 motorway (Bolzano Sud exit). This is not only the first truck charging location on the Brenner motorway – one of the most important transport routes in Europe, especially for freight transport – but also the first location in Italy to use the Megawatt Charging System (MCS).

The centrepiece of the fast charging station is the Power Cabinet, which is equipped with eight 125 kW modules and thus provides a maximum output of one megawatt. The HYC1000 system can supply up to four charging points, each with two charging points, so that up to eight electric vehicles can be charged simultaneously. However, the Brenner motorway company Autostrada del Brennero S.p.A. / Brennerautobahn AG, which also operates the site, has opted for a different configuration. Truck drivers will find two high-power chargers and three charging stations on site. One of the charging stations has two CCS plugs (maximum 600 A, 600 kW), at which two e-trucks can charge simultaneously. The second fast charger has been equipped with an MCS plug (maximum 1,500 A, 1,000 kW) and a CCS plug, although only one of the two options can be used.

Charging processes are billed via the separately installed payment terminal. For ad-hoc charging, the Brenner motorway company currently charges a price of €0.43/kWh for its 15 other charging locations at fast charging points (150 kW and more), according to its website. At lower-power DC charging points it is 0.38 euros/kWh and at AC charging points 0.33 euros/kWh. It is not yet clear whether the conditions also apply to the charging park in Bolzano, which is not yet listed. There is also no information on whether charging processes can also be billed via roaming partners in addition to ad hoc charging.

Incidentally, the charging stations are not accessible to the public. For the first phase, it has been decided that trucks can only be charged after prior registration and with an ID card from the Brenner motorway company. “This allows the company to monitor the use, billing and functionality of the station,” it says. At a later date, electric trucks and electric cars will also be able to charge there.

“The opening of this 1 MW charging station for heavy goods vehicles along the A22 motorway – the first of its kind in Italy – confirms the commitment of Brennerautobahn AG and thus also of the province of South Tyrol to transform this important infrastructure – a bridge between northern and southern Europe – into a digital green corridor,” explained South Tyrolean Governor Arno Kompatscher. “We know that the heavy goods traffic that crosses the Brenner every day accounts for a significant proportion of national imports and exports,” said Diego Cattoni, Managing Director of the Brenner motorway company. He added: “However, it is equally clear that electric mobility will hardly become established in this area without a suitable charging infrastructure: With this powerful charging station for electric trucks – unique in the whole of Italy – we are consistently driving forward the energy transition in heavy goods transport […].” Philipp Senoner, CEO of Alpitronic, commented as follows: “The future of transport is electric – and that requires an efficient and reliable charging infrastructure.”

The increasing demand for suitable charging options is also evident in another aspect: the transformer installed by the Brenner motorway company has a capacity of 2,000 kVA, which means that the site is already geared towards the future expansion of a second 1 MW charging system. Before that, however, AVL Italia will be installing a battery storage system and a digital platform for monitoring and controlling the ‘microgrid’ in the coming months.

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