BBC World – How the electric highway just opened Sweden works

Image copyright Scania CV AB

Image caption These trucks have an articulated system known as pantograph which allows them to connect to the grid.

Sweden has a mission: to make 2030 the transport sector does not use fossil fuel.

In the market there are already solutions to reduce emissions from private cars; such as electric cars and hybrids.

However, one of the biggest challenges is how to reduce pollution produced by cargo trucks in the Nordic countries represent 15% of dioxide emissions carbon.

a solution being tested is to create electricity highways -the first in the world where heavy vehicles can be powered electricity network thanks to a catenary system, similar to that used the train tracks Europe .

the project known as eHighway has just opened a stretch of two kilometers from the E16 motorway, north Stockholm.

Use hybrid vehicles with a smart pantograph entering this stretch of the road is connected to power lines.

0 emissions

Image copyright Siemens

Unlike electric buses, trucks can be switched off when they want to overtake another car at a maximum speed of 90 km / h, thanks to sensors that activate the link mechanism leading to the top .

“the eHighway is twice as efficient as conventional internal combustion engines, “said Roland Edel, chief engineer of the department of Siemens mobility, the German company responsible for the project. “(Our) innovation is to feed the trucks with the energy that comes from the lines (electrical)”.

During the time that these vehicles are being driven by electricity do not emit carbon dioxide and have an efficiency of 80%.

“This means that not only energy consumption is reduced by half, but also reduces local environmental pollution,” said Edel.

And whenever the driver brakes, feeds the grid with the kinetic energy released.

“excellent supplement “

Image copyright Scania CV AB

Image caption for now, this system works on a stretch of two kilometers.

“Many of the products transported in Sweden is by road. The electricity highways offering free trucks dependence on fossil fuels” said Anders Berndtsson, chief strategist at the Swedish transport Administration.

“electrical roads offer this possibility and are an excellent complement to the transport system”.

once trucks leaving the network can re-enable the diesel engine to continue the path.

This year, the German company will be responsible for a similar pilot in California, USA, on a stretch three kilometers the highway connecting the port of Los Angeles to Long Beach.