First U.S. eHighway Demonstration Running in California
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Siemens and South Coast Air Quality Management District demonstrate
country’s first electrified highway near two largest U.S. Ports of Los
Angeles and Long Beach
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Siemens truck electrification technology has potential to reduce
emissions and improve air quality
Siemens and the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) are
conducting a one-mile, zero-emission eHighway demonstration in Carson,
Calif., near the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Three big-rig
trucks hauling freight are running along the stretch of highway that
uses Siemens technology to electrify select highway lanes via an
overhead catenary system. This catenary system supplies the trucks with
electric power, similar to how modern-day trolleys or streetcars are
powered on many city streets, and the system also allows for truck
operation outside of the electrified sections of infrastructure.
Heavy-duty trucks are the number one source of smog-forming emissions in
Southern California. Developing a zero- or near-zero goods movement
system in the ports will reduce smog-forming, toxic and greenhouse gas
emissions in communities around the ports, which are some of the most
heavily impacted by air pollution.
“This project will help us evaluate the feasibility of a zero-emission
cargo movement system using overhead catenary wires,” said Wayne Nastri,
SCAQMD’s executive officer. “This demonstration could lead to the
deployment of eHighway systems that will reduce pollution and benefit
public health for residents living near the ports.”
“Every day, Americans rely on the goods and services that are carried by
freight. But with that mode of transportation predicted to double by
2050, only one-third of this additional travel can be handled by trains
despite expansion of rail infrastructure. Experts expect global CO2
emissions from road freight traffic to more than double by 2050,” said
Andreas Thon, head of Turnkey Projects & Electrification, North America.
“This electrified truck system, what we call eHighway, can modernize the
existing infrastructure using the latest technology to accommodate the
growing amount of freight travel, reduce harmful emissions, and keep
these ports, one of our country’s major economic drivers, competitive.”
One battery-electric truck, a clean natural-gas hybrid-electric truck
and a diesel-hybrid truck are now driving on a one-mile catenary system
on the north- and south-bound lanes of South Alameda Street from East
Lomita Boulevard to the Dominguez Channel in Carson.
The system is expected to lower fossil fuel consumption, reduce truck
operating costs, substantially reduce smog-forming, toxic and CO2
emissions, and help accommodate the growing reliance on freight
transportation. The aim of this specific project is to demonstrate the
eHighway system applied in truck operation on public roads in an urban
U.S. setting and to further prepare applications for larger scale
initiatives in the future.
The demonstration system, similar to trolley systems or streetcars,
features an overhead contact line that makes power available to trucks
along the road and an active pantograph located on top of the eHighway
trucks that transfers energy from the overhead lines to the truck’s
electric motors, allowing the truck to operate with zero emissions while
on the catenary system.
The pantograph can connect and disconnect automatically with the contact
line via a sensor system while the trucks are moving. This allows the
eHighway trucks to easily switch lanes or pass other vehicles without
being permanently fixed to the overhead systems like a streetcar. To
further ensure the same flexibility as conventional trucks, the eHighway
vehicles use an electric-hybrid drive system, which can be powered
either by diesel, compressed natural gas (CNG), battery or other
on-board energy source, when driving outside of the catenary lines.
Under a separate contract with SCAQMD, the air pollution control agency
for Orange County and major portions of Los Angeles, San Bernardino and
Riverside counties, the natural-gas hybrid and battery-electric trucks
have been developed by Escondido-based TransPower and the diesel hybrid
was developed by Mack Trucks, a part of the Volvo Group.
The $13.5 million project is funded by $2.5 million from SCAQMD, as well
as $4 million from a settlement with China Shipping, $3 million from the
California Energy Commission, $2 million from the Port of Long Beach and
$2 million from LA Metro. In addition, Siemens provided a $1.3 million
in-kind contribution. SCAQMD is providing an additional $2.1 million and
the US EPA is providing $500K for the TransPower contract.
In June 2016, Siemens launched the world’s first eHighway system on
public roads in Sweden. The eHighway is running on a two-kilometer
section of the E16 highway north of Stockholm through 2018. Two
bio-diesel-hybrid vehicles from truck-maker Scania, subsidiary of
Volkswagen, are being used for the project. In addition, three field
trials of the eHighway technology on German highways are planned to
start operation in 2019.
Siemens is dedicated to improving Californian infrastructure through
technology—from commissioning combined-cycle flexible power plants in El
Segundo that can power nearly 450,000 Californian homes and intelligent
software that helps CAISO manage renewable energy, to Sacramento-built
advanced technology light rail vehicles for San Diego and San Francisco
and some of the country’s cleanest-running locomotives for the Capitol
Corridor. Siemens also contributes to the local economy with an
extensive footprint in the region including its over 1,000-person U.S.
rail manufacturing and service headquarters in Sacramento and its next47
innovation hub in Silicon Valley.
For further information on Siemens eHighway, please see www.siemens.com/ehighway.
To view this release and related photos/videos, please visit http://siemensusa.synapticdigital.com/Featured-Multimedia-Stories/siemens-ehighway-roll-out/s/e9ff6e36-9c89-43b3-98e4-3a773420e98f.
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Siemens Corporation is a U.S. subsidiary of Siemens AG, a global
powerhouse focusing on the areas of electrification, automation and
digitalization. One of the world’s largest producers of
energy-efficient, resource-saving technologies, Siemens is a leading
supplier of systems for power generation and transmission as well as
medical diagnosis. With approximately 351,000 employees in 190
countries, Siemens reported worldwide revenue of $88.1 billion in fiscal
2016. Siemens in the USA reported revenue of $23.7 billion, including
$5.4 billion in exports, and employs approximately 50,000 people
throughout all 50 states and Puerto Rico.
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