How will it feel that your bus or truck will run like electric trains? Pollution is also reduced and no need to worry about running out of battery. It has become possible. In Germany, about 5 km long (on both sides) electrified highway has been built. Thomas Schmeider recently saw his trolley running on this highway near Frankfurt. As soon as his truck switched from diesel to electric mode, the engine noise subsided.
All over the world, options are being explored to reduce carbon emissions from vehicles. Vehicles with electric and hydrogen fuel cells are emerging as the new solution, but long-distance batteries and hydrogen manufacturing are expensive options for long-distance travel. So Germany is working on this e-highway.
Truck makers like Scania, MAN and Navistar argue that it takes a lot of energy to make hydrogen fuel, so the company is increasingly betting on improved batteries and electrified highways. At present, 20 trucks carrying goods are being run on it daily to check the performance. Experts say long-distance trucks stay on the road for a longer period of time and emit huge amounts of toxic gases and pollutants. That's why it is very important to find alternatives.
Hasso Grunzes, who oversees Siemens' participation in the project, said it would be prudent to electrify the heavily travelled routes first. Siemens estimates that about 4,000 km of e-highway will handle 60% of Germany's traffic. Germany's environment ministry is building three such highways. The ministry says that studies have proved that overhead cable trucks are the most effective option despite the huge infra cost.
According to the German government, the expenditure on building one km of electrified highway is about Rs 22 crore. However, the system installed in trucks is very simple. German electronics giant Siemens has provided hardware for this test. These are the same devices that have been used to run trains on electricity for years. The great thing is that the battery of the truck is also charged with the power supply.
This gives enough energy to cover short distances in urban traffic. This will also eliminate the need to have battery charging stops in place. This will save both time and money involved in charging. Professor Manfred Boltz at Darmstadt Technological University says that this system gives better energy efficiency. In the absence of electricity, small batteries can be used.
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