Electric highways

The German state of Schleswig-Holstein is developing an environmentally-friendly transport solution which will dedicate part of the part of the A1 motorway between Reinfeld and Lübeck to trucks that are powered by overhead electric cables. According to an article published on the Transport & Environment website on Monday (20 February), the pilot test on the 6km stretch of highway will go live before the end of 2018.

According to Transport & Environment: “Lorries powered by electricity had previously been considered viable for urban transport only, but overhead cables will offer scope for heavier trucks covering longer distances while research into hybrid lorries has been in progress in various countries for some time. One of the aspects that will be tested will be the ease with which hybrid trucks can switch between electric and diesel power for stretches with and without overhead power lines.”

TE added: “A second test stretch in another German state, Hessen, is expected to follow shortly after the Schleswig-Holstein test, or even at the same time.”