Overhead cables on roads: the definitive solution for electric trucks?

The decarbonisation of heavy road transport is a matter of considerable concern. The large diesel engines used by trucks produce very high levels of pollution, so it is important to begin transitioning to electric mobility as quickly as possible. Battery-powered trucks seem a logical option, following the path of electric cars, but this presents problems.

Large battery packs are required, which need many high-capacity charging points capable of charging many trucks and delivering a large amount of energy. However, all that infrastructure is very expensive to install and maintain. So there are other ways of enabling electrified road transport at a much lower cost.

Overhead cables to power electric trucks

One of the proposals gaining ground in many projects to power electric trucks is installing overhead cables along the roads. Trucks would need a pantograph that connects to the cables, much like a tram, to obtain the electricity needed to run.

This may seem unmodern and futuristic, since it is a system already used by trams in cities as well. But it is a practical and efficient solution. In this way, trucks can drive connected to the electrical grid while charging their batteries. These batteries would be much smaller and would only be used on road sections without cabling.

The advantages are several. On the one hand, the size of the batteries needed to move the trucks would be reduced. There would also be no need for so many conventional charging points, since the batteries would be supplied with energy from the overhead cables. The investment is also high. However, studies commissioned by the UK government indicate that this investment could be amortised within 15 years, which is not bad at all.

In China, some specific road sections have already been prepared, equipped with this system. To test it, trucks fitted with this system have been used. One of them was manufactured by CRRC Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive Research Institute Co. Apparently the trial has been quite positive, as another similar model has been presented, which will arrive under another brand of the same industrial group.

The first test was carried out on a road outside the road network, solely for this trial, but there are already plans to install the system on several sections of public roads. Other countries working on this path towards electrifying trucks are Sweden, the United States and Germany. So we will probably soon see some roads equipped with these electrification systems for heavy road transport.

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