Swedish heavy duty truck maker, Scania, is testing out hybrid electric-diesel semi trucks that are designed to run on special “eHighways”, which power the vehicle through overhead power lines.
Scania’s CEO, Martin Lundstedt, stated their desire to create an electric semi truck in order to reduce CO2 emissions and increase fuel efficiency:
“Obtaining electric power from the roadway for vehicle operations offers promising opportunities. A future system of electrified roads has a number of advantages: there is less environmental impact from operation of vehicles, electrified powertrains are more efficient than ordinary internal combustion engines and power can be supplied to the vehicles without needing to use heavy batteries.”
According to insideeevs.com, Scnaia has been researching this technology since the 1980s, and are currently investing heavily in its development.
The vehicles are are being testing on a 4 kilometer “eHighway” track, owned German conglomerate Siemens, which has been specifically designed to power the vehicles.
Scania says the most difficult process was not building the actual technology, but developing a seamless method for the truck to easily connect to the power lines while in motion.
When not connected to power lines, the vehicles run off of diesel fuel, like a traditional semi.
