Image: Scania CV ABSiemens and Scania have partnered for a two-year test of an electronic highway (eHighway) test on a two-kilometer section of the E16 highway near Stockholm, Sweden.
Sweden’s Minister for Infrastructure Anna Johansson and Minister of Energy Ibrahim Baylan were on hand for the launch of the program June 22. The test is a step toward the country’s goal of having a “fossil fuel independent transport sector by 2030.”
The system uses two Scania diesel hybrid trucks made specifically for the test, which uses a Siemens catenary system, which consist of an overhead wire that makes contact with the vehicles. Siemens says the system features an intelligent pantograph partnered with a hybrid drive system. The pantograph connects to the overhead wire via a sensor, and can connect at up to 90 kph (56 mph).
Officials say more than one-third of Sweden’s carbon dioxide emissions come from transport, with half of that total resulting from freight.
“By far the greatest part of the goods transported in Sweden goes on the road, but only a limited part of the goods can be moved to other traffic types. That is why we must free the trucks from their dependence on fossil fuels, so that they can be of use also in the future,” says Anders Berndtsson, chief strategist at the Swedish Transport Administration. “Electric roads offer this possibility and are an excellent complement to the transport system.”
Siemens says it’s also working on an eHighway demonstration in a partnership with Volvo for the South Coast Air Quality Management District. The trial is scheduled for 2017 using multiple truck configurations near the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach.
