by Sophie Vorrath |
Los Angeles has been on some sort of a green roll this week: Not only did it become the largest US city to enact a ban on plastic bags (which means stores throughout LA will be required to phase them out by the end of the year) but it's about to become one of the the first cities in the world to adopt a new electric freight trucking system, using technology that was unveiled by electrical engineering giant Siemens last week at the 26th Electric Vehicle Symposium, or EVS26, held in LA. The LA Times reports that the technology, called eHighway, is a highway electrification system that uses overhead electrical wires to transmit energy to freight trucks in separate vehicle lanes, similar to modern-day streetcars. Sounds a bit unwieldy, sure, but Siemens is pretty sure it's on a winner. "When most people think of vehicle emissions, they assume cars do most of the damage, but it's actually commercial trucks that are largely to blame," said Daryl Dulaney, CEO of Siemens Infrastructure & Cities (US). "Freight transportation on US roadways is expected to double by 2050, while global oil resources continue to deplete. And by 2030, carbon dioxide emissions are forecast to jump 30 per cent due to freight transport alone."
Siemens Corp.
The eHighway’s catenary system uses diesel hybrid trucks fitted out with software that senses when an overhead electrical line is available and automatically connects or disconnects as needed (although even when the trucks are in hybrid diesel mode they will consume 30 per cent less fuel). As SustainableBusiness.com (via Matter Network) puts it, "when trucks detect and attach to overhead wires they automatically go into
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