Mercedes-AMG unveils 1 MW fast charging solution

When it comes to electric cars, range is super important, but it's the charging speed that actually makes a huge difference on longer trips. Many EV owners search for the elusive 350 kW charger, but Mercedes-AMG has been quietly working on a different scale altogether.

The company announced that its Concept AMG GT XX achieved a charging speed of over one megawatt, or 1,000 kW, shattering current benchmarks and giving us a glimpse of a future where topping up an EV battery could be as quick as a stop at the gas station.

The record was set at a prototype charging station, where the sleek concept car pulled an astonishing peak power of 1,041 kW. The system didn't need time to warm up; it hit the one-megawatt mark just half a second after the session began.

Even more impressively, the vehicle sustained a charging rate of over 1,000 kW for approximately two and a half minutes. During this test, an immense current of up to 1,176 amperes flowed through the charging cable. In practical terms, the system transferred 17.3 kWh of energy in just one minute, which Mercedes estimates is enough to add 78 miles of driving range. That's 311 miles in just four minutes, which is about the same amount of time it takes to fill up a gas-powered car for an equivalent distance.

This charging feat is just the latest accomplishment for the Concept AMG GT XX. The vehicle is a rolling laboratory for future technologies, and it recently set 25 performance records on the high-speed track in Nardò, Italy. The car showcases the core components of the upcoming AMG.EA high-performance electric architecture, specifically its advanced axial flux motors and a revolutionary direct-cooled battery.

These technologies are not destined to remain in concept form; Mercedes plans to introduce them into series production cars starting next year, signaling a major leap forward for the brand's electric performance vehicles.

The secret to the incredible charging performance lies within the car's unique battery pack. Developed from the ground up by engineers in Affalterbach and inspired by Formula 1 technology, the high-voltage battery operates at over 800 volts. It uses more than 3,000 tall, slim cylindrical NCMA cells, a design that allows for both high energy density (over 300 Wh per kilogram) and efficient cooling.

The key innovation is a direct-cooling system. An electrically non-conductive oil flows around each individual cell, maintaining an optimal temperature across the entire pack. This precise thermal management prevents overheating and allows the battery to safely accept and deliver huge amounts of power continuously.

Of course, a record-setting car needs a record-setting charger. The one-megawatt speed was made possible thanks to a collaboration between Mercedes-AMG, the Mercedes-Benz Charging Unit, and charging specialist Alpitronic.

The team built a unique prototype charging station by cleverly combining two different technologies. They started with a Megawatt Charging System (MCS) station, originally designed for heavy-duty electric trucks, and modified it to work with a slim, liquid-cooled Combined Charging System (CCS) cable - the standard plug used by most electric cars in Europe.

The insights gained from the megawatt charging test will directly influence the development of new public charging hardware. Mercedes-Benz plans to roll out its next generation of high-performance fast chargers at its branded charging parks across Europe and North America starting in 2026. For drivers of future electric cars, this means the wait time at a charging station is set to shrink dramatically.

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