Skip to main content

Scania to test electric trucks and buses in real-life conditions

In February 2016, Scania will begin testing electric trucks as part of the Swedish Gävle Electric Road project, which will demonstrate and evaluate conductive technology, using electric transmission through overhead lines above vehicles equipped with a pantograph power collector. The Swedish Transport Administration has now approved support for the project, which is in line with the Government’s goal of an energy-efficient and fossil-free vehicle fleet by 2030. The project consists of about US$9.2 millio
June 9, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
In February 2016, 570 Scania will begin testing electric trucks as part of the Swedish Gävle Electric Road project, which will demonstrate and evaluate conductive technology, using electric transmission through overhead lines above vehicles equipped with a pantograph power collector.

The 746 Swedish Transport Administration has now approved support for the project, which is in line with the Government’s goal of an energy-efficient and fossil-free vehicle fleet by 2030. The project consists of about US$9.2 million in public financing combined with about US$6 million in co-financing from the business community and the Gävleborg region.

The project is part of the Electric Roads Project, one of the largest innovation procurement projects currently under way in Europe. In cooperation with the Swedish Transport Administration, the Swedish Energy Agency and Vinnova, industry and academia will demonstrate and evaluate electric roads as a possible method for reducing the use of fossil energy in the transport system.   

Scania’s trucks will operate goods transport services on a two-kilometre test route which is being built between the Port of Gävle and Storvik along European highway 16. The trucks are equipped with an electric hybrid powertrain developed by Scania.

Power to the trucks is transferred from overhead lines through a pantograph power collector mounted on the frame behind the cab. This technology has been developed by 189 Siemens, which since 2013 has conducted trials of electric trucks with Scania at its research facility outside Berlin.

Scania is also participating in another research initiative as part of the Electric Roads Project, where induction technology will be tested in city bus services. A Scania city bus featuring an electric hybrid powertrain will go into daily operation in Södertälje in June 2016. There will be a charging station at one of the bus stops where the bus will be able to refill with enough energy in just six to seven minutes to complete its journey.

“The potential fuel savings though electrification are considerable and the technology can become a cornerstone for fossil-free road transport services. Electric roads are also a way to develop more eco-friendly transport services by using the existing road network,” says Nils-Gunnar Vågstedt, who is responsible for Scania’s research in this field.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • New York to pilot cordon-based congestion charging
    March 16, 2012
    From 2009, if all goes to plan, New York will run a three-year cordon-based congestion charging pilot - the first in the US. Upon accession, US Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters signalled her intention to continue her predecessor Norman Mineta's initiative to specifically target road congestion. And, with initiatives such as the US Department of Transportation's (USDOT's) Urban Partnership Program actively promoting tolling as a part of a compound solution to the problem, the way was opened for the co
  • New York to pilot cordon-based congestion charging
    March 16, 2012
    From 2009, if all goes to plan, New York will run a three-year cordon-based congestion charging pilot - the first in the US. Upon accession, US Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters signalled her intention to continue her predecessor Norman Mineta's initiative to specifically target road congestion. And, with initiatives such as the US Department of Transportation's (USDOT's) Urban Partnership Program actively promoting tolling as a part of a compound solution to the problem, the way was opened for the co
  • Home based real time travel information drives reduction in car use
    January 20, 2012
    David Crawford investigates a new approach to discouraging car use - the 'kitchen as travel centre'. ITS technology working together with UK planning legislation is driving an innovative 'kitchen as travel centre' approach to home design which is boosting public transport as an alternative to car use. The combination is already proving powerful enough to assuage environmentalist opposition to major urban developments. It is also being seen as a way of delivering wider social and community benefits inside an
  • First electric truck hits the road in Victoria
    July 12, 2017
    The first of a fleet of nine electric trucks will soon hit the road in Victoria, Australia, thanks to funding from the government’s New Energy Jobs Fund, which provided SEA Automotive with US$395, 000 (A$517,000) in October 2016 to develop a facility to manufacture commercial electric vehicles.