Alpitronic, an established European EV charger manufacturer, is entering the North American market, and State of Charge’s Tom Moloughney visited Alpitronic’s new US headquarters to get the scoop. The company recently opened its US headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina. The 68,000-square-foot office and industrial space has a diagnostics laboratory and repair center, a spare parts warehouse, a training center, and space for as many as 300 employees.

Alpitronic was founded in the Italian Alps in 2009 and, thanks to its deep competencies with power electronics, was able to develop a whole family of DC fast chargers. According to Mike Doucleff, the CEO of Alpitronic Americas, the company has already deployed over 27,000 DC fast chargers with over 50,000 ports (plugs). The chargers for the North American market will be produced locally in Wisconsin.

One of the company’s main focuses is high reliability. Mike Doucleff explained that reliability starts at the heart of the charger—in its power electronic modules. Data and charger architecture are also essential, with serviceability and overall design in mind. US EV drivers will have an opportunity to verify Alpitronic’s reliability pretty soon, as the first installations of public DC fast chargers are scheduled for October 2024.

In the US, Alpitronic will offer three DC fast charger models: the top-of-the-line Alpitronic HYC400 (Hypercharger 400) with a power output of up to 400 kW and up to 1,000 volts, the 200-kW HYC200, and the 50-kW HYC50.

The HYC400 chargers can charge a single vehicle to full power, or even two simultaneously, by dynamically managing the load with 50 kW granularity. Their efficiency is promised to be 97.5%. This type of charger will be used in the Mercedes-Benz High-Power Charging Network. According to Mike Doucleff, other customers have already ordered Alpitronic chargers.

By the way, the HYC400 just received UL certification from UL Solutions in Europe a few days ago, marking Alpitronic’s formal entry into the North American market. The company said the pre-production units have been tested publicly in Rock Hill, South Carolina, and Portland, Oregon.

While visiting Alpitronic Americas, Tom Moloughney also had the opportunity to talk with Branden Flasch, the Technical Sales Manager at Alpitronic, who gave us an overview of the HYC400 chargers.

The Alpitronic HYC 400 (Hypercharger 400). Source: Alpitronic