Electrified highways come online in Germany

Germany launched the world's first electrified truck route, using overhead power lines supplied by renewable energy sources to cut emissions significantly. The system designed by Siemens uses similar technology to that seen on electric railways in Europe to connect the hybrid trucks to the power. While operating on electricity the maximum speed the lorries can travel is 90 kph (56 mph). The German government has invested €70 million ($77 million) to develop trucks that can use the system and with power lines now installed on a 10-kilometer stretch of road between the freight hub at Frankfurt Airport and an industrial park. Trucks will be connected to the electrical supply through the active pantograph, the major technological development. The pantograph can connect and disconnect the vehicle to the contact lines at all speeds and transfers electrical energy directly from the overhead power lines to the truck's electric motor.