Electrical cars – overhead battery chargers are being tested on motorways, Cars, Life & Style
Electrical cars NEWS – Overhead vehicle chargers could be coming to motorways soon
An overhead electrical vehicle charger is being installed on the Autobahn in Germany and is being tested as a possible way to help HGVs and large trucks make the transition to electrified power.
Tests on a 2km open up of motorway have been preciously conducted but now the project is expanding, exposing significant progress in the idea`s validity.
Project ‘eHighway` is being managed by Siemens and financed by the state and federal governments.
Siemens were commissioned by the German state of Hesse to develop the system on the Autobahn.
Overhead electrified car chargers could be the future of the haulage industry
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A charging system will be built into a 10km spread of the A5 federal autobahn.
It will run inbetween the Zeppelinheim/Cargo City Sud interchange at the Frankfurt Airport and the Darmstadt/Weiterstadt interchange.
Gerd Riegelhuth, Head of Transport of Hessen Mobil, commented on the aim of the project.
«Construction of the system will demonstrate the feasibility of integrating overhead contact systems with a public highway.
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«The system will be used for real transport networks, and prove the practicality of climate-neutral freight transport in the urban region of Frankfurt.»
Construction of the system will demonstrate the feasibility of integrating overhead contact systems
Gerd Riegelhuth, Head of Transport of Hessen Mobil
One of the fattest problems facing the haulage industry is that battery-powered vehicles are still not seen as a viable solution.
These vehicles need to travel hundreds and thousands of miles daily and presently battery technology is not at a level which supports this.
Additionally the weight of the fountains onboard these vehicles will almost certainly influence the range of the trucks.
Similar systems to the ‘eHighway` are being considered in Sweden and California for trials.
Siemens explains that the overhead charging system could save €20,000 of fuel saving can be achieved by a 40-ton truck driving 100,000km on the e-Highway (2014 prices).
Additionally they state that 6,000,000 tonnes of CO2 can be saved every year if thirty per cent of truck traffic on German highways is electrified and supplied with renewable energy.
The eHighway project will be tested over the next two years.
