GoEV launches ChargeNOW portable battery-backed charging skid for electric trucks

Portable, battery-backed charging arrives for electric trucking

Australian EV charging specialist GoEV has launched ChargeNOW, a transportable charging system that combines a 640kW DC fast charger, a battery energy storage system and an electrical switchboard in a single 20-foot (6.1-metre) skid-mounted package. The system was unveiled in Melbourne on Monday night, October 26, and is aimed squarely at one of the principal barriers to electric truck adoption: the cost and complexity of high-power electrical infrastructure. GoAuto, which reported the launch on October 29, describes the unit as designed for transport depots, logistics facilities and temporary freight hubs without the substantial electrical upgrades and civil works usually associated with permanent charging installations. ¹²

According to GoAuto's report, ChargeNOW arrives on a standard flatbed truck with its charger, battery and switchboard pre-installed, and needs only a level hardstand, a suitable electrical connection and crane access before commissioning. GoEV managing director Mark Lampard said the arrangement eliminates the need for permanent switch-rooms, extensive trenching and other civil works, potentially reducing deployment times from months to weeks, or even days where suitable site infrastructure already exists. "One crane lift onto a level hard stand. No trenching, no switch room, no civil works. Set it down, connect the supply, and it's ready to charge," Lampard told GoAuto. ¹²

Specifications: 640kW charger, expandable storage, 700A per port

Each unit incorporates a Sinexcel 640kW DC charger capable of delivering its available output through a single Combined Charging System (CCS) connector or sharing power between two connectors. Peak current is rated at up to 700A per port, and customers can choose either 261kWh or 522kWh of battery storage, expandable through additional storage capacity, GoAuto reports. The system can operate from a minimum 400A electrical connection, while the integrated distribution board accepts supplies of up to 1000A. The battery supplements grid supply during charging, shaving peak demand and allowing vehicles to charge at higher power than the site connection could otherwise support. ¹²

GoEV notes that available charging duration will depend on grid capacity, battery state of charge and the vehicle's charging capability, so the 640kW figure is a hardware rating rather than a guarantee of sustained output at every site. Multiple ChargeNOW skids can also operate together as a coordinated microgrid, pooling battery storage and electrical supply; GoEV says a four-skid installation could provide more than 1MWh of combined storage, with inactive units directing stored energy to chargers servicing vehicles. Lampard told GoAuto: "The battery shaves peak demand. Fire suppression and certified cells are built in. Add more skids, and they share the power." ¹²

Each skid measures approximately 6058mm long and 2438mm wide with a quoted transport mass of around eight tonnes, and is designed for redeployment using standard transport and lifting equipment. The system includes integrated aerosol fire suppression, smoke detection, remote monitoring and load management, together with Australian-based maintenance and technical support, according to GoAuto. ¹²

A megawatt-scale satellite on display alongside the skid

At the same Melbourne launch, GoEV displayed a separate high-power charging satellite featuring a Megawatt Charging System (MCS) connector rated at 1500A and 1000V alongside a CCS connector rated at 500A and 1000V. GoAuto notes these electrical ratings correspond to theoretical maximum outputs of 1.5MW and 500kW respectively, subject to the power system supplying the satellite and the connected vehicle's charging capability. The outlet also highlighted the satellite's lightweight, flexible cable arrangement, with the substantial MCS connector reportedly manageable with one hand apart from the final twisting movement for alignment. ¹²

Context: GoEV's fixed megawatt-scale installations

ChargeNOW is positioned differently from GoEV's existing fixed projects. GoAuto, citing its own prior premium reporting, says GoEV has been pursuing several megawatt-scale charging opportunities, including a proposed 3.8MW installation for an Australian transport operator, and has delivered a 2.3MW charging installation for Linfox at Laverton North incorporating three Sinexcel distributed charging power units and 16 dispensers. Unlike those fixed installations, ChargeNOW is intended to offer operators flexibility during early-stage fleet electrification, or where vehicle movements and charging requirements are expected to change. Lampard said the product had undergone high-power testing ahead of the launch. ¹²

Mobile skid charging is an emerging model in Australian freight

ChargeNOW enters a space where other Australian operators are already trialling the mobile approach. EV Infrastructure News reported in June 2026 that freight company New Energy Transport (NET) plans to deploy six mobile, skid-mounted 640kW charging units along heavy freight corridors across New South Wales, each pairing a 640kW dual-dispenser charger with a 125kWh battery energy storage system. NET's full system, supporting 20 electric prime movers across the Sydney, Newcastle, Wollongong and Canberra corridors, is targeted for operational status by the end of 2026. The company frames the project as a capital-efficient, modular first wave, using operating data to build the case for wider rollout before committing to fixed sites. ⁵

Fixed-depot charging specialists have documented the infrastructure constraints that skid-based systems aim to sidestep. EVSE Australia, writing about its work with Linfox for the Bunnings, BevChain and Coles fleets, lists depot electrical infrastructure with limited spare capacity and utility upgrade timelines of 12 to 24 months among the structural barriers, and says its data-first, load-managed approach reduced infrastructure spend by more than 40 per cent compared with initial vendor quotes. EVSE also supplied portable chargers for off-site deployments to CJD Equipment, whose national commercial sales manager Simon Bycroft said local partners were relied on for advice on charging infrastructure and branch power needs. ⁶⁴

Internationally, the same modular logic is visible. US depot operator Zeem Solutions told FreightWaves in May 2026 that it developed skidded charging built around 2.5MW building blocks to avoid extensive excavation, and that predictable overnight load profiles position fleet operators for flexible interconnection arrangements with utilities. GoEV's ChargeNOW applies a comparable battery-buffered, redeployable architecture to the Australian market, though at a smaller per-unit storage scale than Zeem's building blocks. ³

Pricing and availability still unconfirmed

Pricing and commercial availability for ChargeNOW have not yet been detailed, according to GoAuto's report of the launch. GoEV says the redeployable system offers transport operators an alternative to committing substantial capital to permanent charging infrastructure before fleet requirements are fully established, and points to a site check followed by delivery and connection as the deployment path. "Following a relatively simple site check, we arrange delivery, connect the ChargeNOW unit, and you're good to go. It takes weeks, not quarters," Lampard told GoAuto. Prospective buyers will need to wait for confirmed commercial terms before comparing ChargeNOW against fixed installations on cost. ¹²