Page 14 - Demo

NEWS
An etruck test vehicle runs on the electri ed road. e rails can be embedded in existing roads
Electric road charges
trucks on the move
AN EXPERIMENTAL ROAD HAS BEEN BUILT IN
Sweden that recharges electric vehicles on the move, via an electri ed rail embedded in the road surface.
In what the developer says is a world rst, arms tted underneath electric trucks, buses and light vehicles automatically connect with the rail when they drive above it.
When they move away from the rail – turning o the road or during overtaking manoeuvres, for instance – the arms automatically retract.
e rail is connected to the electricity grid and divided into sections that are only powered when vehicles move over them.
e system’s able to calculate the electricity being used by each vehicle drawing power from the rail – so costs can be charged to the users.
Developer eRoadArlanda says that a beauty of the system is that the rails can be embedded in existing roads.
For the trial, a two-kilometre stretch of public road between the Arlanda Cargo Terminal and the Rosersberg logistics area outside Stockholm has been electri ed – to be used by trucks converted to use the system as part of the project.
eRoadArlanda is already planning to electrify more roads around Sweden...and globally.
“One of the most important issues of our time is the question of how to make fossil-free road transportation a reality,” says Hans Säll, eRoadArlanta chairman.
“We now have a solution that will make this possible, which is amazing.”
e developers say that only major routes – around 3% of Sweden’s total road network – would need to be modi ed to make a considerable
cut in carbon emissions. Shorter journeys between the electri ed major routes would be undertaken using vehicles’ stored battery power.
Swedish PM Stefan Löfven announced three years ago that the country intends becoming “one of the rst fossil fuel-free welfare states in the world.”
e target is to make the country’s transport infrastructure completely fossil fuel-free by 2030. Currently road transport accounts for a third of Sweden’s carbon emissions. T&D
Regal reunion
PAST AND PRESENT STAFF OF WAIKATO’S REGAL
Haulage are planning a reunion in August to mark the 30th anniversary of the company’s startup.
Ex-sta er Mark Davys says that “a few of us think that it’s about time we all got together for some bevvies and talk some bullshit.”
e company was created by the amalgamation of Tauwhare Contractors and Sherson Construction and the acquisition of Cronin Transport in Hamilton.
To gauge interest in the August 10-12 get-together in Hamilton, Davys is asking for Regal people to get in touch – either by emailing regal.reunion2018@gmail.com or by joining a reunion Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/386668741744263/ T&D
12 | Truck & Driver