Final preparations for the world’s first electric road project

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Scania Group Press Release  /  June 21, 2016

Outside Gävle in central Sweden, the last preparations are being made at the test strip for an electrically powered truck from Scania operating under real traffic conditions. “It’s amazingly quiet,” says test driver Therése Persson.

Just a couple of days before the official inauguration of the world’s first test strip for electrically-powered trucks under real traffic conditions, the test site is bustling with activity. Power has just been switched on in the overhead lines above the two-kilometre stretch on the E16 motorway outside Gävle in central Sweden, where a green-painted electrically powered truck from Scania is running silently back and forth.

“It feels fantastic that the electric truck is now up and running, operating under real traffic conditions,” says Christer Thorén, Technical Project Manager at Scania’s Hybrid Systems Development unit.

Able to connect and disconnect

During the two-year test period, the electric truck will perform normal transportation assignments for Ernsts Express, a mid-sized logistics company in central Sweden.

The truck can connect to and disconnect from the overhead wires while in motion. When the truck goes outside the electrically-powered lane, the pantograph (the mechanism which connects the truck to the overhead wires) is disconnected and the truck is then powered by the biodiesel fueled engine or battery-charged electric motor.

Without greenhouse emissions

”The first time I drove the electric truck I didn’t feel much difference when it comes to the actual driving. But in electric mode it gets totally quiet in the cab, that’s amazing,” says Therése Persson, one of Ernsts Express’ drivers.

Roger Blom, CEO for Ernsts Express, adds: “For us at Ernsts Express this is a fantastic project to be part of, to drive a truck without any emissions of greenhouse gases. So far the technology works really well. It’s amazing to glide along in this truck in complete silence.”

Developed by Scania and Siemens

The electric truck has a pantograph power collector that is mounted on the frame behind its cab. This so called conductive technology has been developed by Siemens in collaboration with Scania.

Pia Nilsson, Project Manager at Siemens Sweden, says: “Our proven technology from railways, together with Scania’s innovative solutions for the transport sector, means that we together can find new exciting solutions such as this electric road and our own eHighway concept. One of the major benefits of the technology is that it can be implemented on roads that already exist.”

Scania’s Christer Thorén says he is pleased with Siemens cooperation on the project: “Short term, our expectation is that during the two year test period we will be able to show that this is a good and reliable technology, and that it works under real-life conditions, 24-7, summer and winter.”

Related reading - https://www.scania.com/group/en/electrification/

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Sweden inaugurates its first electric road

Green Car Congress  /  June 22, 2016

Sweden inaugurated a test stretch of electric road on the E16 in Sandviken, thus becoming one of the first countries to conduct tests with electric power for heavy transports on public roads.

The test stretch on the E16 is two kilometers long. The technology is similar to light rail, with contact lines 5.4 meters over the roadway. The truck has a pantograph on the roof that feeds 750 VDC to the truck’s hybrid electric system. The current conductor can connect automatically at speeds up to 90 km/h (56 mph). The test stretch is equipped with posts 60 meters apart that hold up the electric lines over one of the lanes.

At a rest area, there is a transformer for low-voltage direct current of the same type as in the light rail network. Other traffic on the road will not be affected.

Electric roads will bring us one step closer to fossil fuel-free transports, and has the potential to achieve zero carbon dioxide emissions. This is one way of developing environmentally smart transports in the existing road network. It could be a good supplement to today's road and rail network.

—Lena Erixon, Director General of Trafikverket, the Swedish Transport Administration

 

An electrified road is one in which the electricity supply for vehicle propulsion is continuously supplied in order to keep the vehicle moving and to avoid recharging requirements. There are three possible techniques known today:

• An overhead conductive technique from above (e.g., like a trolley);
• An inductive technique installed under the pavement; and
• A conductive technique from a rail in the pavement.

The technologies for electric roads have developed rapidly over the last few years, and are now mature enough that some of them can be tested. Last year, the Swedish Transport Administration, in consultation with Vinnova and the Swedish Energy Agency, decided to give support to two test facilities. The two systems differ as to how electric power is transferred to the heavy vehicles.

• The test on the E16 in Sandviken is being carried out by Region Gävleborg, and involves a pantograph on the roof of the truck cab feeding the current down to a hybrid electric motor in the truck.

• Outside Arlanda, the eRoadArlanda consortium company will test a technology that involves an electric rail in the roadway charging the vehicle during its trip. For the time being, the work will take place on a closed-off road, but the plan is that the technology will be demonstrated in actual traffic next year.

The tests will continue up through 2018. They will provide knowledge of how electric roads work in practice, and whether the technology can be used in the future. The experiment is based on the Government’s goal of energy efficiency and a fossil fuel-free vehicle fleet by 2030, and will contribute to strengthening Sweden’s competitiveness.

Three government agencies are partially funding the project, and the participants are paying for the rest of the funding:

• Swedish Transport Administration: Responsible for roads and railways in Sweden.
• Swedish Energy Agency: Works for the use of renewable energy.
• Vinnova: Develops Sweden’s capacity for innovating sustainable growth and societal benefit.

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World’s first electric road opens in Sweden

Scania Group Press Release  /  June 22. 2016

 

The world´s first electric road is being inaugurated near the city of Gävle in central Sweden, the result of a unique partnership demonstrating the path towards fossil-free transportation. Scania is supplying with the electrically-powered trucks, which will operate under real traffic conditions.

Opening today, 22 June, the two-kilometre strip on the E16 motorway sees electrified trucks from Scania driven in open traffic, using conductive technology developed by Siemens.

The beauty of the new technology, which is the result of several years of cooperation between the Swedish Government and the private sector, is that it permits the trucks to operate as electric vehicles when on the electrified road and as regular hybrid vehicles at other times. All the Scania trucks on the road are hybrid and Euro 6-certified, running on biofuel.

Scania’s head of Research and Development Claes Erixon, says, “The electric road is one important milestone on the journey towards fossil-free transport. Scania is committed to the success of this project and is committed to sustainable transport solutions.”

The truck receives electrical power from a pantograph power collector that is mounted on the frame behind its cab. The pantographs are in turn connected to overhead power lines that are above the right-hand lane of the road, and the trucks can freely connect to and disconnect from the overhead wires while in motion.

When the truck goes outside the electrically-powered lane, the pantograph is disconnected and the truck is then powered by the combustion engine or the battery- operated electric motor. The same principle applies when the driver wants to overtake another vehicle while on the electrified strip of the road.

Scania´s sees the electric road as being a key component in achieving Sweden’s ambition of an energy-efficient and fossil-free vehicle fleet by 2030. It can also help to strengthen Sweden’s competitiveness in the rapidly-developing area of sustainable transport.

Nils-Gunnar Vågstedt, who is responsible for Scania’s research into electrification, adds, “The potential fuel savings through electrification are considerable and the technology can become a cornerstone for fossil-free road transport services.”

The investment in the Electric Road E16 programme in Gävle is a result of a programme for the public procurement of innovative solutions that was launched by Swedish authorities. The programme consists of about SEK 77 million in public money, with about SEK 48 million in co-financing from the business community and the Gävleborg regional authority, which administers the area of Sweden where the electric road is situated.

The Swedish transport authority Trafikverket, the Swedish Energy Agency Energimyndigheten, innovation agency Vinnova, Scania and Siemens are the main funders of the technology, while Region Gävleborg is the project coordinator.

The electric road is only one of several pioneering technologies that Scania is working on to help the spread of sustainable solutions within both urban and long-haul transport. The company is also developing technologies for alternative fuels, hybridised and fully-electric vehicles, and autonomously and wirelessly-connected transport in parallel with its work to further enhance and refine the products of the future.

Technical parameters of the Scania vehicle:

Truck model:	Scania G 360 4×2, weight 9.0 ton
Powertrain:	Parallell hybrid, integrated in the   gearbox (GRS895)
Engine:	9-litre, 360 hp (runs on biofuel)
Electric motor:	130kW, 1050Nm
Battery:	Li-Ion 5 kWh (gives a driving range up to   3 km when not running on the e-way)
System voltage:	700V

For additional information, please contact:

• Hans-Åke Danielsson, Press Manager, Scania, tel + 46 70 346 88 11, e-mail hans-ake.danielsson@scania.com

• Nils-Gunnar Vågstedt, Head of Electric and Hybrid Powertrain Technology,
  tel +46 70 551 59 87, e-mail nils-gunnar.vagstedt@scania.com

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