Charge at any time! Germany tests overhead charging system for electric trucks to solve "range anxiety"

Although electric vehicles have now become the mainstream of the automotive industry, "range anxiety" and charging efficiency issues are still plaguing automakers and consumers. This is even more serious for electric trucks because they have heavy loads, high energy consumption, and higher charging efficiency requirements than civilian vehicles.

Mercedes-Benz, Volvo and other big automakers have a positive attitude towards the development of electric trucks, but before major breakthroughs in battery and charging technology, their electric trucks are basically limited to short- and medium-distance use, almost equivalent to "last mile" delivery trucks. However, this situation is being cleverly solved in Germany.

In Lübeck, Germany, a "new technology" is being tested locally, which uses overhead cables previously used on trams and trains on electric trucks. These electric trucks, equipped with power connection devices, can connect to overhead cables during long-distance travel to charge the vehicles, making long-distance travel of electric trucks more convenient and feasible.

On the highway used for testing in the area, overhead cables are hung on the rightmost lane, which is usually used for large vehicles. In order to be able to receive electricity from the overhead cables, the electric truck is equipped with a connector that can be automatically folded and extended. After connecting the cable, it can power the motor or charge the power battery without charging it on a fixed charging device, which greatly improves practicality and efficiency.

Due to the flexibility of the connection of this device, when trucks need to overtake or leave the highway during use, they can still use their own power batteries or fuel engines. In addition, this power supply system is still practical in other application scenarios. For example, in large ports, overhead cables can be used to power or charge heavy-duty transport vehicles.

The system has been tested for nearly two years and will continue for at least another year. According to Jan Bahcmann, project manager for eHighway Lübeck, the cables will be installed on one-third of Germany's highways in the future, which will reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the trucking industry by two-thirds.

However, like any infrastructure project, the project has high upfront costs. Although it reduces fuel consumption and improves the efficiency of electricity use, the trucks still need to pay for the initial construction investment and system maintenance. However, this plan is simple and crude, highly feasible, and can be regarded as an ingenious solution.