Germany opens first electric highway that lets trucks draw power from overhead cables

A 6-mile stretch of "eHighway" has opened in Germany. The road, inspired by electric-train lines, has cost Germany’s environment ministry 14 million euros and is under testing until 2022. Conductor rods attached to a truck’s roof connect with 670-volt overhead cables, which charge the trucks as they drive. Germany also spent 70 million euros developing a truck, which Siemens said will save $22,000 in fuel per 62,100 miles. Germany’s transportation ministry said up to 80% of Germany’s truck traffic may soon become electrified in an effort to curb emissions. Siemens also trialed the eHighway in Carson, California, in November 2017. Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories. Germany has opened its first-ever section of "eHighway," which allows hybrid cargo trucks to charge their batteries while they are on the move. On Tuesday, the German government introduced the technology on a 6-mile-long stretch of Autobahn near the city of Frankfurt. It uses 670-volt direct-current overhead cables that let electric trucks draw power and recharge their batteries on the go. The program, called Elisa (electrified innovative heavy traffic on the Autobahn), is an environment-ministry-sponsored project involving the electronics giant Siemens and authorities from the state of Hesse, where it is taking […]

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