Germany’s electric highway opens (Bloomberg)

Germany has opened the first stretch of a so-called electric highway that will connect hybrid trucks to overhead wires, allowing them to recharge while traveling on the country’s main transportation arteries.

German Electric Truck Highway

The 10-kilometer (6-mile) stretch south of Frankfurt on Germany’s A5 autobahn was opened last week, the German state of Hesse said in a statement. One truck is using it now, with four more planned by 2020.

The system was built by Munich-based engineering firm Siemens AG, while Volkswagen AG’s Scania trucks unit provided the vehicles. It uses technology similar to trains or trams, allowing to trucks to link on while driving at up to 90 kilometers an hour, drawing power from the wires above. The electricity charges up the trucks’ battery, allowing it to drive electrically for a while afterward, with a diesel motor kicking in once the battery is depleted.

Keep reading

4 comments

  1. PROBLEM
    This article, as with others, is hidden behind a paywall & many of us cannot read it.
    Can the editors of “LR” please do something about this?

  2. @Greg T

    Unfortunately we cannot do anything about an external site’s paywall. However doing a search on the post title’s keywords should lead to similar articles.

    Also, Bloomberg and other paywalls have a geographically sensitive paywall – in North America, one is allowed 3-4 free reads of the Bloomberg site for instance. Your mileage may vary. LBM

  3. @GregT
    Try deleting cookies, opening private window, searching for the article title then using cached view, an alternate site – especially for press releases, clicking through an aggregator, capturing reader mode before paywall cookies load, move through a VPN, trying a phone format.

    Beauty of Transport often cited causes me loading issues.

Comments are closed.