Overhead lines will power hybrid trucks along a Swedish highway next year
Swedish truck maker Scania planning to trial electric trucks on electrified roads in February next year, hoping to realise fossil fuel savings of up to 90 per cent.
Part of Sweden’s Gävle Electric Road project, a co-financed initiative from the Swedish government and the business community, the trial will take place on a two-kilometre test route from the Port of Gävle to Storvik.
The modified highway has been equipped with overhead powerlines which will power the test vehicles through conductive technology.
The vehicles feature a Siemens-developed pantograph power collector mounted behind the cab to harness the electrical current supplied from above and a Scania-developed electric hybrid drivetrain.
“The potential fuel savings though electrification are considerable and the technology could become a cornerstone for fossil-free road transport services,” Scania’s head of hybrid systems Nils-Gunnar Vågstedt says.
“Electrified roads are also a way to develop more eco-friendly transport services by using the existing road network.”
Scania and Siemens have been researching and testing the technology in Germany since 2013, but the Swedish government’s goal of creating an energy-efficient and fossil-free vehicle fleet by 2030 has brought it to the Gävleborg region.
“The beauty of scheme is that the heavy trucks involved can operate both as electric vehicles when on the electrified road and as a regular hybrid vehicles at other times.” Scania says.
“Fossil fuel emissions are reduced by 80 to 90 percent.
“Operating costs will be lower, as far less energy is required due to the efficiency of the electric engine.
“Electricity is also a cheaper source of energy than diesel.”
Evaluation of the project will be conducted by the Swedish Transport Administration, the Swedish Energy Agency, and Vinnova, along with industry members.