DSV Participating in eHighway Research Project

Imagining an electrified highway stretching all through Europe, allowing on-the-go charging is no longer just an idea. Enabling long-distance electric trucks as a feasible freight mode throughout Europe is already being tested in the ELISA eHighway project.

In support of their long-term targets for the reduction of carbon emissions, Danish logistics company DSV is participating in and supplying data for the ELISA eHighway project, which has begun to turn this image into reality.

Electric vehicles will be central to the green transition of the industry. But today, there are considerable limitations that hinder a smooth and successful shift to especially long-distance electric trucks.

Søren Schmidt, CEO, DSV Road says, “Without the right levels of infrastructure, there is a danger that charging stations will be the Suez Canal of road transportation and the cause of significant delays and congestion for electric vehicles. If the eHighway is established and expanded across Europe, it would create new possibilities when it comes to introducing long-distance electric trucks and offer lower-emission services without any delays for our customers. As a leading company in the industry, we see it as our responsibility to contribute to the early stages of the development of new technologies such as the eHighway.”

Through the ELISA eHighway project, a range of project partners work to establish an electric highway that allows for easy on-the-go charging of electric vehicles, eliminating downtime spent on charging and eventually enabling a transition to electric long-distance trucks. Trucks driving on eHighway test tracks are equipped with roof sensors that detect an overhead contact line above the truck, which then connects to the line through a pantograph and charges while driving.

Since the beginning of February, a subcontracted DSV driver has been using the 10km, soon to be 17km, eHighway test track in Frankfurt, transporting customers’ goods to and from Frankfurt Airport. Through a data logger in the truck, data concerning more than 150 parameters such as battery charging state and fuel rate is sent to researchers from the Institute of Transport Planning and Traffic Engineering at the Technical University of Darmstadt. Additionally, the researchers conduct weekly evaluation interviews with the driver.

In addition to the track in Frankfurt, which DSV is currently testing, the project includes test tracks in the German cities of Stuttgart and Lübeck. The current phase of the project runs until the end of 2024. Project partners are applying for funding for a potential next phase, allowing for further development of the eHighway.

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Source DSV