Trolley Style Truck Test in CA? | Semi Truck Repair

Photo by Dan Boman via InsideEVs.com

Attention all JAM blog readers:

We need to apologize right now for apparently falling asleep–under a very large rock–for the entire time since this information came out.

We try constantly to keep a finger on the pulse of our beloved industry–sharing cool stories, funny memes, and innovations in design and technology here on our blog and on our social media platforms. (Shameless plug: Follow us on LinkedIN, Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest. There are others; but start there. :))

We love to report on things and ideas that are talked about, tested, and that could potentially affect our Fleet clients and Owner/Operators. So… well.. missing this one was a doozy.

In 2009 the government of Sweden started setting attainable long-term goals to work on reversing their negative environmental impact. They called these their “environmental quality objectives” or EQO’s. 13 more targets were set in 2012. So what does this have to do with us? One of the more notable of these goals was to create a “fossil fuel free transport sector by 2030.”

So in 2013 Scania, the Swedish truck manufacturer, announced it’s partnership with Siemens, the internationally respected engineering company based in Germany. Their goal was to create a road system and commercial vehicle similar to that of the electric trolley to be tested in Sweden. Their goal being such that commercial vehicles could attach and detach to these lines, greatly reducing their environmental footprint and potentially mitigating their dependence on fossil fuel.

Fast forward to 2014, Transport Topics reported that California was going to follow suit, with completion of their own test track by July 2015. You’ve got to admire forward thinking innovation, no?! Since California’s boasts the busiest ports at Los Angeles and Long Beach, and truck travel on their corridors reaches an excess of 35,000 trucks a day, it only made sense to install a test “e-highway” in this area. Siemens will be teaming up with Mack Trucks this time to develop the hybrid diesel-electric commercial tractor for use on this track.

While fuel efficiency and environmental impact are exciting; the cost of a new hybrid truck is substantial, so our guess is that Fleets and Owner Operators might not be as excited at the prospect. But a move towards pulling ourselves from the nasty oil dependency we are afflicted with? Well that’s certainly a welcome change.

Check out Siemen’s video below.