eHighway pilot under construction on the Autobahn

Works have started on one of three eHighway projects in Germany. Led by Siemens, the track along the A1 motorway will enable hybrid trucks to charge while in motion via overhead wire. The pilot set to start in mid-2019 will receive power from renewable energy sources.

The latest eHighway is funded through the German government. The current stretch of the A1, officially dubbed field trial FESH, is in the North of Germany. On this part, Siemens has teamed up with SPL Powerlines who will install the overhead wires.

The hybrid trucks for the eHighway come from Volkswagen’s Scania. They will be run by haulage company Spedition Bode between their logistics centre Reinfeld and the port of Lübeck.

All eHighway pilot projects will last a few years in order to gather data. Another stretch has been completed in Hesse at the end of last year reportedly and a third test track will be located in Baden-Wuerttemberg.

The German eHighways are not the first though. Siemens had exported their trials to California for example, where Mack fitted its truck to connect to the overhead wire spanning a highway in LA (we reported).

The world’s very first eHighway runs on a motorway near Stockholm, where Scania has been running two hybrid trucks since.

In Sweden you can find the eRoadArlanda as well that charges electric trucks in motion via rail. Here this works like an upside-down tram however, rather than with a cantenary as is the case for Siemens. This means “the technology as such (compared to overhead charging), can be used for both passenger cars, trucks and buses if you provide them with an eRoad-connector under the vehicle,” informs us Hans Säll from eRoadArlanda.

While Siemens had conceived the concept as early as 2012, an electric highway in India is of the country’s own making. The government in Delhi is even considering to reserve one lane on each and every national highway for charging electric vehicles in motion (we reported).

heise.de (in German)