[AnandB]

I just watched this video and it seems like such an obvious idea.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3P_S7pL7Yg

Its only in testing phase but we use the same tech with electric trains. It bypasses the need for carrying huge batteries and hybrid trucks can cover places where electric cables are not available.

Its not THE solution. There are lot of stuff to work on like costs, the already strained power grids and many other factors. But i feel this is a good alternative than trying to make fully electric trucks. We also know for vehicular pollution its the commercial vehicles that have most effect on the environment.

[abhishek46]

Why not use Electric locomotives instead?

As of today, India has over 45000Kms of Electrified Tracks.
This infrastructure, along with the Dedicated Freight Corridors should be leveraged to it's maximum potential for Hauling Freight.

[AnandB]

Originally Posted by abhishek46

Why not use Electric locomotives instead?

As of today, India has over 45000Kms of Electrified Tracks.
This infrastructure, along with the Dedicated Freight Corridors should be leveraged to it's maximum potential for Hauling Freight.

Maybe its a cost and reach issue. I transport cement for Ultratech and they do also have railway rake facility but they transport mostly with trucks because overall its much cheaper for them. And for some locations its just not possible. The cost to transport, loading, unloading, secondary transport, maintaining it, etc., all adds up to much more than what they pay us to transport from factory to destination.

[shortbread]

Commercial vehicles are suited for Hydrogen. This is highly likely to be the obvious route, more so now that some of India's biggest business houses have invested in the same.

[abhishek46]

Originally Posted by AnandB

Maybe its a cost and reach issue. I transport cement for Ultratech and they do also have railway rake facility but they transport mostly with trucks because overall its much cheaper for them. And for some locations its just not possible. The cost to transport, loading, unloading, secondary transport, maintaining it, etc., all adds up to much more than what they pay us to transport from factory to destination.

There is RO-RO facility where-in Trucks can originate from the point of loading, and then at a suitable place, they simply hop-on onto a Train, and get transported to the destination.

There are some limited but popular routes that are being served by the RO RO Trains currently.

[AnandB]

Originally Posted by abhishek46

There is RO-RO facility where-in Trucks can originate from the point of loading, and then at a suitable place, they simply hop-on onto a Train, and get transported to the destination.

There are some limited but popular routes that are being served by the RO RO Trains currently.

This is a good idea. Should be used much more extensively.

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by AnandB

There are lot of stuff to work on like costs, the already strained power grids and many other factors.

Strain on the power grid will ease once we start harnessing solar and wind power. A few countries are already pulling 70% of their power from renewable sources.

The trouble with the above solution is that its going to be a mess to wire every single highway with a over head catenary system. Its like bringing back the infrastructure that trams once used. Then there is cost and the fact that they need to be designed and commissioned in such a way that over size loads can be accommodated. There will need to be designated lanes.

Battery electric trucks are here. Take a look at Mitsubishi's eCanter. Yes, its a small truck but its a start towards going electric. Much easier to manage, considering charging infrastructure is only increasing. There are over head chargers too where a bus or truck park up and raise their pantographs to charge batteries.

[V.Narayan]

Originally Posted by AnandB

I just watched this video and it seems like such an obvious idea.

Thank you for sharing. Interesting concept. May have some merits on trunk routes. I am just old enough to have a recollection of trams in Mumbai and pantograph powered electric buses of BEST - yes we had them too. The former went out in the early 1960s and the latter in the early 1970s. They made a God awful mess with their wires strung all over the place. But India being India we now have old cable TV wires making a similar mess on buildings and pavements. High vehicles like double deckers could not traverse on those routes!!! And in case of trams there was the rail laid into the ground too. Phew I feel special. Might be the only one on Team BHP who has travelled in these. :-) .

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

Strain on the power grid will ease....

Member @sandeepmohan makes some great points on why these are impractical. Agree with all of them.

[srini1785]

There is always a limitation on the number of vehicles that can simultaneously get on these power tramways. Say you have an overhead line feeder of maximum 50kW and each truck consumes say 10kW for normal operation, then there can be a maximum of 5 such trucks in tow. Beyond that its not feasible. The electric train service in cities like Mumbai, Chennai are all carefully planned depending on the peak load drawn by the EMU and power provided by the feeders.

It does make some sense for battery recharging through overhead lines. Just make a segregated fenced line on the side of the road and provide a fast charging through the overhead feeder. You draw power while moving at 10kmph and for 30mins and leave the queue for other to get in. More practical than laying a long OH line with trucks that rely on these for their motors.

[_chikku]

Originally Posted by AnandB

I just watched this video and it seems like such an obvious idea.



Its only in testing phase but we use the same tech with electric trains. It bypasses the need for carrying huge batteries and hybrid trucks can cover places where electric cables are not available.

Thanks for sharing. There are some mines in Africa and probably in South America which use these dumpers to transport mines & ores. They also use hybrids which can run on diesel too.

https://youtu.be/oNTm-jd_4lE?t=130

[mvadg]

Originally Posted by AnandB

Its not THE solution. There are lot of stuff to work on like costs, the already strained power grids and many other factors. But i feel this is a good alternative than trying to make fully electric trucks. We also know for vehicular pollution its the commercial vehicles that have most effect on the environment.

ABB and Siemens have been testing this idea for quite a while now.
Read the comments on the video, people have brought out interesting points. I am all for such e-highways, once the kinks have been worked out.


Some comments from youtube:

• good idea. but rubber is not very efficient, they should consider having steel wheels and track so it lowers the energy cost.
  
• There is a electric test highway track on the A5 too between Frankfurt am Main and Darmstadt
  
• Wow, we started reinventing the trolleybuses, after phasing them out for diesel ones. (I know a bus is not a truck, but the difference is not that big)
  
• There are towns where a trolleybus can disengage, I'm not sure how old the technology is though, but it's been out there for some years from what I've seen.
  
• Our city (Riga) have these diesel trolleybuses who use diesel generator on streets without overhead wiring on partially electrified routes. Seems suitable solution for trucks too.
  
• I can confirm - in my city (Gdynia, Poland) some of the trolleybuses are equipped with batteries, so they can drive several km without overhead wires
  
• The exciting bit is that this might prove economically viable for everybody involved - the trucking companies, the governments funding the projects, the rest of us who have to live on this planet. In an ideal world, we'd get rid of most highways and replace them with much more efficient electric rail lines, but this is a solution that might work in the real world, in the near future, and for many more use cases.
  
• They should be pairing this with self driving technology. The bus staying in one lane, on a fixed route, (maybe with some specialized positioning indicators) should make self driving programing significantly easier.
  
• Catenary wires on railways often come down and that's with not much use from trains only going past at intervals. Now imagine loads of trucks and the wear and tear on the cables. It looks a bit of a mess too. Clever idea but if a cable goes then everything turns to chaos until it's repaired. Railway freight can move far more in one go too!
  
• I can see a deadly safety flaw with this system and that is that road vehicles are INSULATED from earth and cannot be earthed and have a large mass of metal which could become dangerously LIVE if the vehicle's insulation were to break down, whereas trains and trams are effectively earthed via their tracks. And what about the increased risk of mass electrocutions if the wires get ripped down like in a severe storm or because of a serious crash which is more likely on a motorway where drivers drive at much higher speeds?!
  
• If we had this in the UK people would retrofit their Teslas to have a lightning rod like a dodgem and get free leccy as they drive.
  
• I've only seen one tesla on the road in the past three years in the UK, don't think anyone would care if they did steal it
  
• Unfortunately what I've seen of Tesla fans is the they think electric trains should be converted to run on batteries instead of electrified rails. I wish I was joking but these guys have a cultish obsession with doing things the way Elon Musk is doing them.

[AnandB]

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

Strain on the power grid will ease once we start harnessing solar and wind power. A few countries are already pulling 70% of their power from renewable sources.

The trouble with the above solution is that its going to be a mess to wire every single highway with a over head catenary system. Its like bringing back the infrastructure that trams once used. Then there is cost and the fact that they need to be designed and commissioned in such a way that over size loads can be accommodated. There will need to be designated lanes.

Battery electric trucks are here. Take a look at Mitsubishi's eCanter. Yes, its a small truck but its a start towards going electric. Much easier to manage, considering charging infrastructure is only increasing. There are over head chargers too where a bus or truck park up and raise their pantographs to charge batteries.

I don't think there are any changes in battery tech upcoming that will reduce it's size and weight. I am mainly talking about medium to long haulage for medium to long distance. For example CVs between 20 M.T.to 35+ M.T. Most of that allowed weight will be eaten by the batteries leaving not much of actual stuff that needs to be hauled. Not to mention the turn around time because of having to recharge.

That is why i think this is a better in-between option that forgos having the need to carry huge batteries and hybrid IC option where this is not possible. Or like other member suggested Hydrogen but I am not sure how near to practicality that tech is specifically for CVs.

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by AnandB

I don't think there are any changes in battery tech upcoming that will reduce it's size and weight. I am mainly talking about medium to long haulage for medium to long distance

Take a look at this Scania. On a truck chassis, you have heaps more room to cram in batteries. Mercedes have crammed in >300kWh of battery capacity on their eActros range! With a range peaking at 300km and charging time at a little over an hour, the long-heavy haul battery electric truck solution is already here.

[Electromotive]

Originally Posted by srini1785

There is always a limitation on the number of vehicles that can simultaneously get on these power tramways. ...

It does make some sense for battery recharging through overhead lines. Just make a segregated fenced line on the side of the road and provide a fast charging through the overhead feeder. You draw power while moving at 10kmph and for 30mins and leave the queue for other to get in. More practical than laying a long OH line with trucks that rely on these for their motors.

+1

This concept is too costly and too ugly to be widely implemented. Wireless road charging is probably better although still very costly. Charging stations every 300 miles or so might achieve the necessary balance negating the need for a large battery.

[ecenandu]

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

Strain on the power grid will ease once we start harnessing solar and wind power. A few countries are already pulling 70% of their power from renewable sources.

There are quite a few challenges with renewable sources like solar power. Have a look at this video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYLzss58CLs