Eco-friendly trucks with pantographs

  • May 21, 2012
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Siemens conducts tests in America to gauge effectiveness of emissions reducing systems

Hybrid diesel electric truck

Siemens announced its ‘eHighway of the Future’ concept at the 26th Annual Electric Vehicle Symposium in Los Angeles recently that involves electrification of trucks and select highway lanes via overhead wires. The aim is to reduce use of fossil fuels and thereby CO2 emissions and noise pollution in residential and agricultural areas, and, most importantly, to integrate the system into existing highways and infrastructures. Siemens has developed the supporting technology necessary to make the eHighway a reality: infrastructure, software, hardware and hybrid drives.

“When most people think of vehicle emissions, they assume cars do most of the damage, but it’s actually commercial trucks that are largely to blame,” says Daryl Dulaney, CEO, Siemens Infrastructure & Cities, United States. “Freight transportation on US roadways is expected to double by 2050, while global oil resources continue to deplete. And by 2030, carbon dioxide emissions are forecasted to jump 30 per cent due to freight transport alone.” 

What is needed essentially is a hybrid diesel electric truck with built-in technology and software to connect to overhead electrified wires. The trucks are equipped with pantographs (the devices you see on electric locomotives or trams) to connect to the overhead electric lines. The trucks are designed to use both electricity and diesel power and will automatically switch to electric mode when they detect and attach to the overhead lines. Once the truck leaves the lines, it switches back to diesel. As the technology becomes more widely adopted, the company believes every truck equipped with an electric drive system will be able to use the eHighway regardless if it’s a diesel electric, pure battery, fuel cell range extended or CNG combustion engine vehicle.

“It’s really about creating a more sustainable environment,” Dulaney says. “Already more and more consumers are driving electric and hybrid vehicles. If we can get the commercial freight industry to come on board, we’ll decrease emissions dramatically and improve sustainability.” The technology also can also be expanded to allow trucks to travel through densely populated cities.

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