Automotive

Siemens to construct eHighway on German autobahn

The Siemens eHighway field trial will be the first on a public highway in Germany
Siemens
The Siemens eHighway field trial will be the first on a public highway in Germany
Siemens

Siemens first revealed its eHighway concept back in 2012, where a hybrid diesel/electric truck moving down a stretch of road could raise its specially-developed pantograph to meet overhead power lines and roll along on electric power only. Last year the eHighway project moved from testing to a live install on a 2 km stretch of public roads outside Stockholm, Sweden. Now Siemens has announced similar plans for a 10 km stretch of Germany's A5 autobahn.

The first eHighway field trial on a public highway in Germany has been commissioned by the German state of Hesse, and is due for completion by the end of next year. It will run from the Zeppelinheim/Cargo City Süd interchange at the Frankfurt Airport and the Darmstadt/Weiterstadt interchange – which adds up to 10 km (6.2 mi) of federal highway.

The planning, construction and maintenance of the system will be down to Siemens, while overall project management will be the responsibility of Hessen Mobil, the body that oversees road and transport management in the state. "The system will be used for real transport networks, and prove the practicality of climate-neutral freight transport in the urban region of Frankfurt," said Hessen Mobil's Gerd Riegelhuth.

As with previous eHighway installations, the overhead lines will supply electricity to the electric drive of a hybrid freight truck. When running under said lines, the truck will operate on electricity only, with the hybrid diesel engine kicking in when leaving the eHighway and operating on roads without overhead power lines.

Siemens reports that the system is potentially twice as efficient as ICE-only trucking solutions, while also reducing local air pollution.

Source: Siemens

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9 comments
Gizmowiz
Better to build slots in road and have a robotic arm to drop down into slot for power. Thise wires are so ugly
Madlyb
I hate those overhead lines, they just clutter up the view and make things appear more haphazard. We need a better way of delivering power to mobile trucks, buses, and trains than this.
Bob
This might have been great for trolley cars but an induction system would be better for trucks and cars.
highlandboy
Better to have large capasity electrical storage and provide on the move charging. This would reduce the need for as much overhead infrastructure, and reduce the need for ICE power.
Jose Gros-Aymerich
Electric vehicles are fancy, clean, but, besides acting as 'pacifier' for some aggresive environmentalists, its generalized us couldn't be too good, nor is possible. For having the current UK fleet of vehicles all going electrical, an increase of 16 times in electrical power production is needed. (Aviation Week data) The top density of current energy storage per weight in batteries is less than 400, versus the same value in liquid fuels of 12'000. (same source)
Nothing compares to Gasolines and Diesel and JP-4 for storing, distributing, and changing chemical or other energy into mechanical energy. The electric car is as clean as clean is the source of its electricity, and in some places, an electric Watt emits more CO2 in being produced, transported, stored, then changed into movement, than a Watt coming directly from fuels, althoug figures about this vary. (Source: SciAm) Please keep cool, gentlemen!
watersworm
in other countire they'ld call this "Trains" !
Kpar
What's old is new again!
Douglas Bennett Rogers
This will make sense if the new, more efficient nuclear reactors are deployed. The present waste problem is due to 90 % of the fuel being thrown out. This makes the waste physically hot and in need of refractory materials for storage.
Joe123
Keep them in Germany. What a tremendous eyesore! Not only that, to call this "climate-neutral freight transport" is an outright lie. Imagine how much energy this will take for one vehicle, then imagine 100,000 vehicles! And France & Germany are now turning to coal because their "green energy" devices are not working properly! Germany uses fossil fuel for over 50% of it's energy use, and costs to the consumer are skyrocketing!