THE goods you buy in the supermarket often arrive by truck. In Europe, these trucks can travel several hundred, even over a thousand kilometres to bring food products to stores.
While the traditional truck stop might not be disappearing yet, with the advent of electric trucks the issue of charging for these vehicles travelling great distances needs to be addressed.
A growing number of projects in Europe concern the development and implementation of road infrastructure that would allow electric trucks to charge automatically while driving.
Several technical solutions are in competition to become the standard, from induction charging to good old-fashioned catenaries or overhead lines.
Sweden is a forerunner in this field, having conducted tests since 2018 on the eRoadArlanda, a 2km stretch of road that allows trucks to be charged automatically by "connecting" to electric rails installed in the middle of the road.
In order to be able to charge a vehicle while it's on the move, it must be equipped with a kind of skid placed at the end of a mobile arm attached to the bottom of the chassis, which automatically attaches itself to the rails laid out along their route.
Initially, this system is being tested on trucks, but the idea is to adapt it to buses and electric cars. This project is part of a vast government plan to electrify 2,000km of roadways by 2030.
At present, in Sweden and elsewhere, the classic catenary system of overhead lines is used to supply energy and charge the batteries of electric trucks while they are in motion.
This works in exactly the same way as for trains. When the driver activates it, the pantograph is deployed and comes into contact with the catenary. The driver can also decide to stop the process at any time.
Currently, several sections in Sweden and Germany are equipped with catenaries available to a few test trucks. Although the technology is established, logistical challenges remain, especially when crossing bridges or tunnels.
Now other alternatives are cropping up as potential solutions. It was recently announced in Sweden that, for the first time in the world, a 20km stretch of the E20 freeway is to be permanently electrified by 2025.
The aim here is also to facilitate the charging of electric trucks, even if the technology adopted has not yet been validated.
In addition to installing a central rail or catenaries, the Swedes could opt for induction charging, which allows for the wireless transmission of electrical energy from the roadway to the vehicle.
This solution would require the installation of a dedicated module under the truck.