Marketing manager of Scania France, Gilles Baustert is familiar with the issue of electric roads, which his brand has been working on for years. It enlightens us while restoring certain truths.
Transport Info : What needs does the ERS meet and why is Scania involved in this project? ?
Gilles Baustert : The electrification of fleets is becoming an urgent necessity in order to achieve the objectives of reducing CO emissions by 30%2 by 2030 and then carbon neutrality by 2050. With the electric road, it is no longer a question of storing large quantities of electricity in order to obtain the longest possible autonomy for the truck, but rather of capturing it punctually on shorter intervals while riding.
Scania tested the pantograph technology in Sweden on a 5 km stretch of motorway and then in Germany. These tests have shown that ERS are a viable solution and an alternative to charging stations that are still insufficient on European territory to meet the needs of carriers.
After the first distribution vehicles have been available for two years, regional electric tractors of 40 t with 350 km of autonomy will be produced at the end of 2023 and we will launch long-distance HGVs in 2025 with around 4h30 of autonomy. They will require recharging powers of more than 1 megawatt whereas today we barely exceed 200 Kwatts. At Scania, we believe that ERS should be deployed every 125 km which would allow trucks to recharge their batteries to reach a range of 250 km.
“The batteries currently used on vehicles are compatible with ERS.”
OF : Is the ERS compatible with current trucks ?
GB : On a technical level, if we put aside the insufficiently mature induction solutions, there are no obstacles to equipping existing ranges with pantographs or connection arms to electrical conduction rails on the ground. Depending on customer needs, Scania will sometimes install pantographs, sometimes skids under the trucks or even a mix of these different technologies.
The batteries currently used on vehicles are compatible with the ERS, it suffices to electronically modify the voltage, the conversion of which is done directly on the truck. There will necessarily be an additional cost for these devices which will be offered as an option on heavy goods vehicles but which will be offset by the reduction in the size of the batteries or by lower energy costs than those of diesel.
“The use of ERS reduces carbon emissions from transport by 86%.”
OF : What are the benefits of ERS ?
GB : The electric road aims first to reduce CO emissions2. In Sweden, tests have shown that the ERS used on 2% of the road network reduces CO emissions by 50%2. According to the estimates of the French ministerial study, the use of ERS makes it possible to reduce carbon emissions from transport by 86% compared to 60% only with EVs charging at terminals.
The technology allows a reduction by 3 of the size of the batteries and therefore of the use of copper, aluminum, cobalt and other increasingly rare and expensive raw materials. If the ERS are deployed on the motorway, one can imagine that the motorway concessions will offer fixed prices which will include the consumption of electricity whereas at the terminal the prices vary from one supplier to another. According to our estimates, the cost of ownership of an ERS-compatible HGV would be reduced by 3-4% compared to a diesel vehicle, while the cost of a battery-powered truck is 15-20% higher than that of a diesel .
Interview by Renaud Chasle