Megawatt EV chargers coming to U.S.

ABB E-mobility, Kempower and Alpitronic have each moved in recent weeks to bring higher-power EV charging hardware into the U.S. market, with new systems rated from 500 kilowatts to 1.2 megawatts and site architectures that can scale higher. ABB on May 5 introduced its OM X-Series for fleet and corridor charging sites, Kempower on May 7 unveiled a new dual CCS-and-MCS dispenser, and Alpitronic has begun testing its HYC1000 hardware in Charlotte, North Carolina, according to the companies and industry reports. (e-mobility.abb.com) The new hardware goes beyond the 350-kW-to-400-kW range that has defined the latest wave of U.S. fast chargers. InsideEVs reported on May 16 that charging companies in the United States are now rolling out equipment capable of 500 kW, 600 kW or as much as 1 megawatt. (media.mbusa.com) Most current passenger EVs in the U.S. cannot accept anything close to a full megawatt. The early target is commercial vehicles and future high-voltage passenger models, while charging groups and automakers continue work on standards, vehicle integration and site power availability. ### Which companies have actually announced new hardware? ABB E-mobility said on May 5 that its OM X-Series is a distributed charging system designed for “transit depots, logistics hubs, and public charging corridors,” with site capacity scaling from 800 kW to 10 MW and beyond across more than 100 charge points. (e-mobility.abb.com) The company said the system uses a site-level DC bus and liquid-cooled power modules to support sustained heavy-duty use. Kempower said last week that its new Mega Satellite Flex is its first dispenser that can charge through either a high-power CCS connector or a Megawatt Charging System connector. (insideevs.com) The company said the unit can deliver up to 560 kW through CCS and up to 1.2 MW through MCS. Alpitronic’s HYC1000 is already being tested at the company’s North American headquarters in Charlotte, InsideEVs reported in April. (kempower.com) Alpitronic’s product page says the HYC1000 power cabinet delivers 1 MW total output, while Mercedes-Benz said in September 2025 that select charging parks in Europe and North America would begin using the system in 2026, with up to 600 kW available at a single charging point. ### If the chargers are this powerful, why can’t most cars use them yet? Mercedes-Benz said its planned Alpitronic deployment is tied to next-generation high-performance charging and cited development work influenced by a concept vehicle that exceeded 1 megawatt through a single CCS cable in testing. (e-mobility.abb.com) The company’s production-network figure for the HYC1000, however, is up to 600 kW per charging point, not 1 MW to today’s typical passenger car. (kempower.com) Kempower’s own positioning is aimed first at heavy electric transportation. Its MCS materials describe the system as a dedicated solution for electric truck charging above 1 MW, while the Mega Satellite Flex is framed as a bridge product during the transition from CCS to MCS. (insideevs.com) ### What is MCS, and why does it matter here? CharIN said in February that IEC TS 63379 was officially published as the technical specification covering connectors, vehicle inlets and cable assemblies for conductive DC charging at megawatt power levels. SAE said its J3271 technical information report, published in March 2025, covers charging equipment and control elements from the utility interconnection point to the vehicle battery terminals. CharIN says MCS is intended for heavy-duty vehicles that need higher charging rates during moderate dwell times. The group’s technology page says the connector is being developed for trucks and other larger vehicles, while ISO/IEC 15118 remains the communication framework used to support interoperable charging features. (media.mbusa.com) ### What still has to happen before broad U.S. rollout? ABB said megawatt-class sites are meant for continuous-duty applications such as depots, logistics hubs and corridor charging, which puts the focus on site architecture and energy management as much as on the dispenser itself. (kempower.com) Its X-Series pitch includes battery storage integration on a DC bus and demand-management functions intended to address heavy site loads. SAE and CharIN documents show that interoperability work is still active. SAE said J3271 covers couplers, inlets, cables, cooling, communication and interoperability, and CharIN said in 2025 and 2026 updates that MCS testing has continued through dedicated events focused on integrated heavy-duty charging systems. (charin.global) Mercedes-Benz said its Alpitronic rollout will begin at select new charging parks in 2026 in Europe and North America. (charin.global) Kempower has already begun North American deployments of megawatt hardware, according to industry reports, while ABB and other suppliers are using ACT Expo-era launches to line up fleet, depot and corridor projects for the next phase. (media.mbusa.com) (sae.org) (e-mobility.abb.com)