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Feature08 November 2017,
updated14 April 2021Siemens AG / Siemens Mobility GmbHMunich
Shifting freight transport to rail has its limitations. Therefore, a share of this transport will need to be carried out by trucks that combine reliable service with minimum environmental impact. The eHighway system is twice as efficient as conventional internal combustion engines. This Siemens Mobility innovation supplies trucks with power from an overhead contact line. This reduces local air pollution and contributes significantly to the decarbonization of the transport sector.
Infographic: Electrified road freight traffic – the eHighway by Siemens
The technology developed by Siemens Mobility supplies hybrid trucks with electricity from anoverhead line via a pantograph. The system not only slashes energy consumption by half, but also substantially reduces local air pollution.
eHighway in Germany
In August 2017, Siemens Mobility was commissioned by the state of Hesse to build an overhead contact line for electrified freight transport on a ten-kilometer stretch of autobahn. With this field trial, the eHighway is being tested on a public highway in Germany for the first time. The system is installed on the A5 autobahn between the Zeppelinheim/Cargo City Süd interchange at the Frankfurt Airport and the Darmstadt/Weiterstadt interchange.
In March 2018, a further contract was awarded by the Research and Development Center of the University Kiel for the construction of a five-kilometer eHighway on the A1 autobahn between the Reinfeld and Lübeck interchanges.
A third eHighway system on the B 462 federal highway between Kuppenheim and Gaggenau has been successfully completed and handed over to the customer in June 2021.
In March 2018, a further contract was awarded by the Research and Development Center of the University Kiel for the construction of a five-kilometer eHighway on the A1 autobahn between the Reinfeld and Lübeck interchanges.
A third eHighway system on the B 462 federal highway between Kuppenheim and Gaggenau has been successfully completed and handed over to the customer in June 2021.
Infographic: First eHighway in Germany
Siemens Mobility supplied a pilot system for electrified road freight transport for Hessen Mobil.
eHighway in USA
In November 2017, Siemens Mobility installed and tested a two-mile-long overhead contact line system for hybrid electric trucks near the U.S. ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, two of the largest ports in the country.
Infographic: Siemens eHighway demonstration in California
Siemens and the "South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD)" are running a one-mile, zero-emission eHighway demonstration in the Californian city of Carson, U.S., near the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Three trucks hauling freight are running along the stretch of highway which uses Siemens technology to electrify select highway lanes via an overhead catenary system. This catenary system supplies the trucks with electric power, similar to how modern-day trolleys or streetcars are powered on many city streets. The system also allows for truck operation outside of the electrified sections of infrastructure.
eHighway in Sweden
The first eHighway system on a public road was inaugurated in June 2016 in Sweden. For two years, a Siemens Mobility catenary system for trucks was tested on a two-kilometer stretch of the E16 highway north of Stockholm. The system trial employed two diesel-hybrid trucks manufactured by Scania and adapted, in collaboration with Siemens Mobility, to operate with the catenary system. During the two-year trial, Sweden's transport authority Trafikverket and the district of Gävleborg gathered data to see whether the Siemens eHighway system is suitable for future commercial use and further expansion. As part of its climate protection strategy, Sweden has committed to having its transport sector independent of fossil fuels by 2030.