There are additional complications to consider, such as oversize loads on those same roads, and consequences of crashes. If a crash knocks out a catenary, I'd guess the safety fuse for that section of roadway would blow...which then would stop any vehicles without at least some onboard batteries.
Railroads have a lot of control over the railcars traveling on their rail lines. Highway departments have less control over highway vehicles. On Tue, Aug 3, 2021, 21:06 Mark Abramowitz via EV <[email protected]> wrote: > There was a one or two mile test of a catenary system near the ports in > Los Angeles several years ago, using Siemens technology. > > The pilot project had an interesting twist - the pantograph would be > connected for a portion of the trip, and then the truck would operate > normally under whatever normally powered it - diesel or natural gas. > > There are videos of the system in operation, but the problem was that > there were constant problems in even constructing the overhead wire system. > If anyone is interested, there must be a final report or summary out there > someplace. > > The Siemens guys were nice, the project - less so. > > - Mark > > Sent from my Fuel Cell powered iPhone > > > On Aug 3, 2021, at 12:02 PM, Peri Hartman via EV <[email protected]> > wrote: > > > > What if Highways Were Electric? Germany Is Testing the Idea. > > > https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/03/business/electric-trucks-catenary-wire.html#commentsContainer > > > > There’s a debate over how to make the trucking industry free of > emissions, and whether batteries or hydrogen fuel cells are the best way to > fire up electric motors in big vehicles. Mr. Schmieder was part of a test > of a third alternative: a system that feeds electricity to trucks as they > drive, using wires strung above the roadway and a pantograph mounted on the > cab. > > ... > > And the system is relatively simple. Siemens, the German electronics > giant that provided the hardware for this test route, adapted equipment > that has been used for decades to drive trains and urban street cars. > > ... > > So far the sections of highway equipped with overhead cable in Germany > are short — about three miles long in both directions near Frankfurt. Their > purpose is to test how the system performs in everyday use by real trucking > companies hauling real goods. By the end of the year more than 20 trucks > will be using the systems in Germany. > > ... > > Longer term, according to Siemens figures, 4,000 kilometers of wired > highway, or nearly 2,500 miles, would accommodate 60 percent of German > truck traffic. > > ... > > But the onus would be on the German government to build the overhead > cables, which cost an estimated 2.5 million euros per kilometer, or about > $5 million per mile. > > ... > > But, responding to questions from The New York Times, the ministry noted > that batteries are getting cheaper and better all the time, and charging > times are dropping. “In the final analysis the total cost of > infrastructure, vehicles and energy will decide what technology or > combination of technologies prevails,” the ministry said. > > ... > > The cables also recharged the Scania’s battery, which stores enough > power to drive short distances emission-free in urban traffic. That is > another advantage of the catenary system: The eHighway could eliminate the > need for charging stops, important in the trucking industry where time is > money. > > > > --------- > > > > The fact that Tesla nearly has a semi tractor capable of many long haul > routes leads me to believe the battery solution will win. Nonetheless, it's > great to see this experiment happening. > > > > Peri > > > > << Annoyed by leaf blowers ? https://quietcleanseattle.org/ >> > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Address messages to [email protected] > > No other addresses in TO and CC fields > > UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub > > ARCHIVE: http://www.evdl.org/archive/ > > LIST INFO: http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org > > > > _______________________________________________ > Address messages to [email protected] > No other addresses in TO and CC fields > UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub > ARCHIVE: http://www.evdl.org/archive/ > LIST INFO: http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://lists.evdl.org/private.cgi/ev-evdl.org/attachments/20210803/0485fc2a/attachment.html> _______________________________________________ Address messages to [email protected] No other addresses in TO and CC fields UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub ARCHIVE: http://www.evdl.org/archive/ LIST INFO: http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org
