Around 2km of electric rail was installed in a public road linking a cargo terminal and a logistics area near Stockholm. Charging works by transferring energy from the rail to specially modified vehicles via a conductive, movable arm.

 

The arm – attached to the vehicle – is able to detect the location of the rail and will automatically move into a lowered position as long as the vehicle is travelling above the rail.

 

The new electrified road will be used by electric trucks developed as part of the project, which is known as eRoadArlanda.

 

“One of the most important issues of our time is the question of how to make fossil free road transportation a reality,” said the chairman of the eRoadArlanda consortium Hans Säll.

 

“We now have a solution that will make this possible, which is amazing. Sweden is at the cutting edge of this technology, which we now hope to introduce in other areas of the country and the world.”

 

The Swedish Transport Administration’s director general Lena Erixon attended the official inaugurationof the road last week, and said: “It is important to break new ground when it comes to climate smart road transport. That’s why we support innovative development projects that contribute to long term, sustainable solutions.”

 

The eRoadArlanda project is part of the Administration’s pre-commercial procurement of innovation. Sweden has also conducted trials of an electric road using overhead cables similar to those seen on electrified railways in the Gävleborg region.