Scania to test electric trucks

Scania has announced it is set to trial hybrid trucks on an innovative electrified section of road in Sweden, with the vehicles powered by overhead cables in a manner usually associated with trams or trains.

The Gavle Electric Road Project recently won approval from the Swedish Transport Administration, and will see a two-kilometre-long section of road between the Port of Gavle and Storvik, around 200 kilometres northwest of Stockholm, converted for use by vehicles equipped with a pantograph power collector.

The project is one of many initiatives from the Swedish Government to help it achieve a fossil-free vehicle fleet by 2030, says Scania, with the trial set to commence in February 2016.

The test trucks are powered by Scania hybrid drivetrains while the pantograph power collectors, mounted on the frame behind the trucks' cabs, have been developed by Siemens. Siemens has been trialling electric trucks with Scania at the former's research facility near Berlin since 2013.

Using the electric lines in this manner has the potential to eliminate up to 90 per cent of fossil fuel emissions, says Scania.

According to Nils-Gunnar Vagstedt, Head of Hybrid Systems at Scania, the trial could pave the way to significant economic and environmental benefits.

"The potential fuel savings though electrification are considerable and the technology can become a cornerstone for fossil-free road transport services," he said.

"Electric roads are also a way to develop more eco-friendly transport services by using the existing road network."

Scania will also commence trials of an electric hybrid city bus in Sodertalje in June 2016. The manufacturer says a charging station at one of the bus's stops can fully recharge the vehicle in just six or seven minutes, giving it enough charge to complete its entire route.