IN Brief:
- Scania has demonstrated bidirectional vehicle-to-grid operation using Megawatt Charging System hardware.
- The test reached up to 1000A and 750kW for heavy commercial vehicle charging and discharging.
- Heavy electric fleets could become flexible energy assets where depot schedules, chargers, and grid controls align.
Scania has demonstrated vehicle-to-grid operation for heavy commercial vehicles using the Megawatt Charging System, reaching up to 1000A and 750kW in a test that extends high-power truck charging into bidirectional energy management.
The demonstration used MCS hardware to transfer power between a heavy electric truck and the wider energy system. The setup allowed the truck, charger, and energy management system to communicate in real time, creating a controlled pathway for both charging and discharging through high-power infrastructure.
Megawatt Charging System technology is being introduced to support long-distance and high-utilisation electric truck operations, where conventional charging power can be too slow for freight schedules. Scania’s demonstration adds a further function: a parked heavy vehicle can potentially operate as a flexible energy asset when it is connected, available, and not required for immediate transport duty.
The technical achievement sits at the intersection of transport electrification and grid operation. Heavy-duty EV charging is already a significant grid-planning challenge because depot loads can rise quickly when multiple vehicles require high-power charging within limited windows. Adding bidirectional capability changes the design question again. The depot is no longer only a concentrated load; under the right conditions, it can also become a controlled source of flexibility.
That depends on coordination across several layers. Vehicle battery management, charger hardware, site energy management, connection limits, metering, settlement, fleet scheduling, and grid service participation all have to work together. A truck cannot provide grid support if it compromises delivery schedules, battery warranty conditions, operational resilience, or driver availability. The commercial model must therefore match the transport duty cycle rather than the theoretical storage capacity parked in a yard.
Electric HGV charging demand is already moving into detailed distribution-network modelling, with UK Power Networks’ Future Fleet project examining depot charging, on-site batteries, solar generation, flexible connections, and shared infrastructure models. Scania’s V2G demonstration points to the next stage: once heavy-vehicle charging is modelled and connected, it may also be dispatched.
Depot design will be central to whether that potential is realised. High-power chargers require appropriate incoming capacity, transformer sizing, switchgear, protection settings, cable routes, thermal management, communications, and safety systems. If a site includes solar generation or stationary battery storage, the energy management challenge becomes still more complex. Vehicle batteries, stationary batteries, and grid import limits all need to be optimised against fleet demand.
That complexity is already reshaping charging infrastructure. Lower-cost truck charging models using PV, storage, and energy management show how logistics sites can reduce electricity costs while remaining within grid connection constraints. Battery-backed systems such as the upgraded MAX300 depot charging platform apply a similar logic where grid upgrades are constrained.
Bidirectional MCS adds another option, but it does not remove the need for careful connection planning. A high-power V2G depot could create export as well as import flows, affecting protection, voltage management, transformer loading, and network studies. Grid operators will need confidence that assets can respond predictably, while fleet operators will need confidence that energy participation does not undermine vehicle availability.
The demonstration is therefore a systems milestone rather than a simple charger upgrade. Heavy transport electrification is moving into a phase where vehicles, chargers, depots, software, and grid services have to be designed together. A parked truck with a large battery has useful flexibility potential, but only if the electrical infrastructure around it is engineered to turn that potential into controlled operation.
