In a press release, the German University explains how its project has produced various prototypes of electric trucks for heavy goods transport that combine a traction battery with an electric motor and a pantograph, depending on the intended application.
Over the course of the project, which lasted several years, the PEM team converted two tractor-trailers and tested them on test routes with overhead line infrastructure to validate the research results. The findings are intended to prove the suitability of tractor units with pantographs and serve as a basis for future series developments.
On the “Siemens Mobility” test track in Groß Dölln near Berlin, the University says it has now demonstrated the practical suitability of the reconfigured tractor units in a demo run.
“Due to the high share of road-based freight transport in Germany’s CO2 emissions, truck transport also urgently needs to be decarbonized,” says Professor Achim Kampker, PEM Director . “This works as quickly as possible by converting existing vehicles.”
However, due to the high energy requirements of such trucks, which result from their high mileage as well as their total weight of up to 41 tons, RWTH Aachen University notes that there “has so far been no competitive solution for their electrification”.
“The aim of the project “Life Cycle Cost Reduction in Electric Distribution Transport through Pantograph-based Modular Systems for Trucks and Tractor Units” (LiVePLuS) was therefore to develop an economically viable electric powertrain for heavy-duty transport vehicles,” says the university.
To this end, the PEM team designed a modular construction kit with a battery and an overhead contact line pantograph, with the traction battery intended for feeder trips and the pantograph for power supply on the long haul.
“With the help of our modular principle, semitrailer tractors and other heavy vehicles can be electrified depending on the application by configuring the powertrain based on the respective customer requirement,” says Fabian Schmitt, head of PEM’s Zero Emission Trucks division.” By supplying energy with the help of the overhead line, the capacity of the battery can be designed to be small while the truck maintains a long range.”