Germany opens its first electric motorway for delivery trucks
Germany has just inaugurated its first electric motorway. ELISA (Elektrifizierter Innovativer Schwerverkehr auf Autobahnen), a 10-kilometer-long eHighway in which hybrid trucks can circulate while charging their batteries, was launched on 7 May. This is a joint project between Siemens and the German Ministry of the Environment in its fight against polluting emissions.
Located in Hesse (one of the busiest points in the country), between Langen and Weiterstadt, this electric motorway has a catenary on its route so that hybrid trucks with roof-mounted loading equipment can be hooked onto it so they don't have to stop to refuel.This solution is not only more environmentally friendly but also saves companies a lot of time and money.
Trucks will have to run at 90km/h maximum to make everything run smoothly and connect to the 670-volt line that the eHighway is equipped with. During the loading time the trucks will only work with electricity and once out of the loading section they return to the conventional road to circulate with their hybrid engine.
This pilot project, which will run until 2022, is mainly designed to study the effectiveness of this type of mobility in the environment thanks to the reduction of CO2 and nitrogen oxide emissions. Hybrid trucks are a very efficient solution for this. As Siemens itself indicates, this system will represent a 50% reduction in pollutant emissions. With 30% of electric truck traffic, 6 million tons of CO2 could be reduced per year.
And not only that, the economic savings for carriers would also be remarkable, up to 20,000 euros per 100,000 kilometers traveled, says the German company.
Source: Digital Trends
