The charging network provider wants fleets, truck manufacturers to help test the megawatt charging system and collect real-world data

Electric Circuit is preparing to install a megawatt charging system (MCS) for medium- and heavy-duty trucks and is looking for industry partners to help test it once it comes online.

The Hydro-Québec subsidiary is planning to deploy a 1.2–1.4 MW charger at the Service Area de la Porte du Nord on Highway 15 in Quebec’s Laurentians by summer 2026. Electric Circuit believes it will be one of the first operational MCS chargers in the province.

“There’s not much MCS in North America. That’s the difficult point of being in front — you don’t have much experience on what errors not to do,” says Martin Archambault, senior delegate for business development in energy and mobility at Hydro-Québec, in an interview with Electric Autonomy.

“But we prefer being first in line and doing things for the first time. We’re always prudent with the first trials we’re doing, but we accept that with pleasure.”

Electric Circuit already has between 12 to 15 fast chargers, including a 400-kilowatt charger, installed at the same rest stop for light-duty vehicles.

Standards in progress

While megawatt charging technology is on its way, trucks equipped with the new connectors are scarce.  

“Our greatest problem right now is that we cannot find any trucks with an MCS connector that will be able to test the equipment,” says Archambault.

Megawatt charging promises to make heavy-duty electric trucking more viable by reducing charging times to near parity with diesel refueling. A one-megawatt charger could add hundreds of kilometres of range in minutes rather than hours.

However, Archambault points out that the protocol is still not finalized.

“It’s 90 per cent stabilized right now, but it’s not rubber-stamped as the final version,” he says. “Everyone is walking on thin ice. Since it’s not final, you don’t want to purchase too much equipment that might not be aligned with the official standard.”

That uncertainty has left many truck manufacturers opting for dual CCS ports that can enable up to 700 kW of charging, rather than committing to a single 1+ MW connector.

Call for collaboration

Despite these risks, Archambault says Electric Circuit sees value in being an early mover in megawatt charging.

“At Hydro-Québec we want to create the movement. We start by putting in the charger to help start the machine,” he says. “But we’re only putting one. We want to make sure some trucks follow, and if they do, we’re going to put more of them. We’re open to installing MCS chargers at our sites, but not before we’re sure it’s the official standard and the industry is going that way.”

For now, Electric Circuit is appealing to partners across Canada — whether fleets or truck manufacturers ­– who plan to bring MCS-capable trucks to market but don’t yet have access to a charger. The company wants to offer its site as a real-world testing ground.

“Maybe you’re a truck maker like Volvo or Kenworth planning to have a version of your truck with MCS. You’ll need a charger to test it, and we’ll have a public charging station ready for that,” Archambault explains.

He adds that he would like to see partners bring one to three trucks to demonstrate what megawatt charging can deliver in practice.

“We’re getting close to the time you have to stop to fuel up the diesel truck now. That is the kind of things that will be helpful for the truck, OEM and for our business, too. So that’s the kind of help we would like,” says Archambault.

Data-driven learning

Once the project with fleets is up and running, Electric Circuit plans to collect detailed data from the first charging sessions to guide future investments. The charging network provider already collaborates with telematics providers, such as Geotab, to analyze electric truck usage; however, no real-world information exists yet for MCS.

“We already know with fast charging, the speed of charging is not necessarily the speed of the charger—it’s the speed that the trucks can accept, and that speed will decay very rapidly with time when the battery is getting more and more charged,” Archambault explains.

“Let’s say we have a 1.2-megawatt charger. Maybe the truck that’s going to be there at 25 per cent of charge will start at 700 kilowatts but will rapidly drop to 150 kilowatts. So, how fast will it be to charge the truck? Even though it’s a megawatt charger right there, we’re not quite sure right now.”

Participating fleets will be asked to share charging curves and energy transfer data. That information, Archambault said, will be critical for deciding how many megawatt chargers to install at each site and what kind of services to provide for drivers.

If charging sessions are only a few minutes long, simple amenities like restrooms would be enough. But if trucks are parked for over an hour, Electric Circuit might need to consider adding more amenities such as lounges, Wi-Fi or food options.

“We need to collect some data to make sure of all of that…just to make sure we’re going to provide the best experience possible,” says Archambault.