Actually, it's weird. Back in 2016, Siemens Mobility introduced the eHighway system. Nothing more or less than an overhead line along major highways, to which hybrid trucks can connect. Simple and effective. Yet you hear very little about it.
The principle is simple. Overhead wires are laid above the right-hand lane of highways where there is a lot of through freight traffic, which power ground stations. Trucks are equipped with a so-called 'pantograph', which the driver connects manually, or via a sensor, automatically.
The truck is hybrid. So it has a combustion engine, but also the technology to drive electrically. As soon as the pantograph couples with the overhead line, the electric motor is switched on. There is then hardly any noticeable difference in driving behaviour. If the driver has to change lanes to overtake, for instance, the pantograph will collapse and the truck will drive on the combustion engine again. The pantograph also collapses during sudden movements.
Substantial CO2 reduction
"Road freight transport plays a central role in the fight against climate change. In Germany, it accounts for 33% of all CO2 emissions in the transport sector. Truck manufacturers are pursuing various concepts to reduce this burden. With eHighway, Siemens Mobility has developed a turnkey technology for energy-efficient, cost-effective and emission-free truck transport. This can be combined with other drive systems to become the backbone for combating climate change in this sector, " said Michael Peter, CEO of Siemens Mobility. In the Netherlands, freight transport accounts for 11% (CBS 2020).
German test tracks
The eHighway is currently being tested on three public routes in Germany: on the A5 motorway in the state of Hesse between Frankfurt Airport and Darmstadt/Weiterstadt. In the state of Schleswig-Holstein on the A1 motorway between the Reinfeld and Lübeck interchanges and on the B462 trunk road in the state of Baden-Württemberg between Kuppenheim and Gaggenau. The system has also been tested in Los Angeles and in Sweden.
The idea is not to equip every highway with overhead wires. Only on those roads where there is a lot of through freight traffic. In the Netherlands, the A15 between the port of Rotterdam and the east of the country are considered and the A67 from the direction of Antwerp.
