Continental’s development and production service provider, Continental Engineering Services (CES), and Siemens Mobility will collaborate in the development and production of current collectors for trucks, so called pantographs. The aim is to electrify key sections of the highway network with an overhead line system, and thus significantly reduce CO2 emissions from trucks, in line with EU regulation 2019/1242.
The new partnership brings together the expertise of two worlds of technology. Siemens Mobility is a specialist in rail electrification, while Continental Engineering Services is a development and production service provider for sophisticated automotive technologies. Both companies are now pooling their expertise in order to achieve volume production of current collectors quickly, thus making them available for widespread use in Europe.
The eHighway technology supplies trucks with electric drives (e.g., hybrid, fuel cell, or battery-powered electric trucks) on heavily frequented stretches of highway via an overhead cable. Trucks can drive completely electrically while also charging their batteries without consuming fuel.
“We are transferring the principle of rail electrification to the road. The current collectors will be developed and produced in accordance with automotive standards. The partnership between Continental Engineering Services and Siemens Mobility is a major step toward climate-neutral freight transport,” explains Dr Christoph Falk-Gierlinger, Managing Director of CES.
The eHighway technology developed by Siemens Mobility is already ready for use today. Now, it is just a matter of developing the current collectors, especially for trucks, so that they can be offered to commercial vehicle manufacturers cost-effectively and in any desired number of units.
“Road haulage plays a central role in the battle against climate change,” says Michael Peter, CEO of Siemens Mobility. “In Germany, it causes one third of the transport sector’s CO2 emissions. Truck manufacturers are pursuing various concepts towards reduction. With the eHighway, Siemens Mobility has already created a ready-to-use technology for energy-efficient, cost-effective and emission-free truck traffic that can be combined with other drives. This may become the backbone for environmental protection in road haulage.”