Siemens has teamed up with Volvo Group to test the feasibility of an "eHighway" electric truck system that uses overhead wires for power, much like trams.
The test track, based in two lanes of a street in the city of Carson in California, features a catenary (overhead wire) system that it is hoped could be installed in the vicinity of the largest US ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in order to reduce local emissions.
The eHighway aims to bring some of the efficiencies found when transporting freight on electrified railway lines to road transport. It involves specially-designed e-trucks -- created by Mack Trucks, a subsidiary of Volvo Group -- equipped with hybrid drive and smart current collectors which attach themselves to the lines overhead in order to receive power.
The smart current collectors allow for overtaking manoevres and automatic hook up and disconnection at speeds of up to 90 kilometres per hour. On regular roads without overhead lines, the vehicles can unhook and make use of hybrid systems, which use either diesel, compressed natural gas or a battery.
First developed in 2011, the system has been honed on test roads that mirror real-life road conditions, featuring traffic signs overhead to see how the electrical lines might work in conjunction with conventional public roads and the associated infrastructure.
If the tests prove successful, the system will be installed on a section of highway 710 near the ports in California, which carries a lot of shuttle truck traffic.
"Our eHighway technology eliminates local emissions and is an economically attractive solution for freight transport on shuttle truck routes," explained Matthias Schlelein, head of Siemens Division Mobility and Logisticsin the US. "Long Beach and Los Angeles, the two US ports generating the most traffic, can benefit hugely from our technology."
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