Sweden Has inaugurated the world's first electric road. Trucks run on electricity on the dedicated road without using fossil fuels. The trucks do this through a kind of trolley system.
The road came about through a collaboration between the Swedish government and companies. Truck manufacturer Scania supplied the electric trucks, Siemens produced the control system. The road is still in the testing phase. On a two-kilometre stretch of the E16 motorway near the city of Gävle in central Sweden, the trucks drive among other traffic. The moment the trucks are on the special road with overhead wires, they drive fully electric. On other roads, they operate as hybrid vehicles. The trucks produced by Scania are all Euro 6-certified and run on biofuel. "The electric road is an important milestone on the road to transport without fossil fuels," says Claes Erixon, Head of Research & Development at Scania.
Technology
"The truck receives electric power via a pantograph mounted on the frame behind the cab. The pantographs are in turn connected to overhead power lines above the right-hand lane of the road," the company explains in a press release. "The trucks can freely connect or disconnect from the overhead power lines while driving. When the tractor goes outside the electrically powered lane, the pantograph is disconnected and the tractor is powered by the internal combustion engine or a battery-powered electric motor." Similarly, when the driver decides to overtake another vehicle, the truck switches to the internal combustion engine or electric motor.
Further developmentsScania is working on even more sustainable solutions for the logistics industry including: alternative fuel technologies, hybrid and fully electric vehicles, and autonomous and wireless transport. Sweden has set a target ofusing no fossil fuels by the year 2030 and having an energy-efficient vehicle fleet.
