We’ve all seen trolley buses and trams drawing their power from the power grid, without the need to carry cumbersome, heavy batteries around. The system has been in use for decades, and there’s a good reason for that - it works!
Now, Siemens have decided to try and adapt and adopt it for utilization on the highway. The plan is to have power lines running above the highway, and have hybrid-diesel trucks driving underneath on electric power alone, while drawing energy from the power lines above through a pantograph similar to that of a modern tram. The advantage of using a pantograph is that it can be raised an lowered so that it always stays in contact with the overhead power cables.
The idea is that as the trucks are driving along the highway, they’re running solely on electric power and, after turning off the highway, they can use their hybrid-diesel drive train to continue the rest of the journey, drastically reducing the amount of fuel used for the entire operation. We think it’s an awesome idea and we’re very excited to see it in action, as there are plans to implement the system on Interstate 710 in L.A., where pollution is a serious problem.
The idea is that as the trucks are driving along the highway, they’re running solely on electric power and, after turning off the highway, they can use their hybrid-diesel drive train to continue the rest of the journey, drastically reducing the amount of fuel used for the entire operation. We think it’s an awesome idea and we’re very excited to see it in action, as there are plans to implement the system on Interstate 710 in L.A., where pollution is a serious problem.
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