Models for the development of electric road systems in Europe
Creators: name: Hartwig, Matthias
name: Bußmann-Welsch, Anna
name: Lehmann, Michael
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2020
Subjects: dacarbonization
Electric Road Systems
freight traffic
catenary truck
European Union

description: In the European Climate Law presented this year, the EU has set itself the task of becoming climate-neutral by 2050 in line with the Paris climate goals. Given that heavy goods vehicles account for around 25% of total CO2 emissions from road transport, climate neutrality depends in large part on rapid decarbonisation of this sector. Since alternative fuels such as hydrogen or synthetic fuels are currently still characterised by low efficiency, and battery-only solutions in heavy goods transport are associated with considerable battery weight and correspondingly long charging times, solutions aiming to achieve the greenhouse gas savings required by 2030 must include electric road systems (ERS). This comprises three possible approaches: overhead contact line infrastructure systems, conductor rail systems and induction systems. <br> Projects involving induction coils on the road have in many instances been affected by technical problems, so this technology does not appear to be operational, at least in the medium term. Pilot projects on conductor rail systems as well as, especially, overhead infrastructure systems, are, however, already at an advanced stage of development. The development of overhead infrastructure systems is particularly noteworthy here, as it is cost-efficient, dynamic and has already been deployed in numerous pilot projects in Germany and abroad. Thus, it has also been assigned the highest Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of the three systems introduced. Moreover, it is ahead of conductor rail systems in terms of technological maturity. If the necessary regulations are implemented at the European and national level and the subsequent planning and construction take place rapidly, heavy goods traffic can be thoroughly decarbonised by 2030 without additional burdens on transport companies and at manageable cost for state-owned operating companies. In principle, there are three possible scenarios for the deployment of ERS at EU level: Establishment of a few interoperable ERS as a result of national stand-alone or bilateral agreements between individual member states (1), a Europe-wide interoperable system (2) and a compatible system (3). While the unilateral approach or an agreement between selected Member States foreseen in scenarios 1 and 3 already offers a high potential for decarbonisation, it risks producing a number of isolated solutions based on different, possibly non-interoperable technical systems. This would be likely to lead to higher economic costs and lower reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. Scenario 2, on the other hand, outlines an EU-wide, standardised, interoperable solution with a single metering and billing system, which would enable mobility providers to sell electrical power to ERS users in a competitive market across the continent. The participating transport companies would thus be able to choose the most favourable electricity prices, the best service and the tariff models that best suit them on the market. At the same time, they would only have to deal with a single company for all their contracts and invoicing (Single Point of Contact) related both to supplying electric vehicles with power and paying road tolls, as the mobility provider would offer European Electronic Toll Services (EETS). Such standardisation would simplify technical procedures while also being most cost-effective. This position paper therefore designates scenario 2 as its preferred solution.
description: This working paper was prepared within the framework of the project "AMELIE – Abrechnungungssysteme und -methoden von elektrisch betriebenen Lkw, sowie deren interoperable Infrastrukturen im europäischen Kontext" (AMELIE – Billing systems and methods for electrically powered trucks and their interoperable infrastructures in the European context), funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi).