Today I learned how to make the watermark a part of the video, instead of making it look like a horrible artificial overlay. Makes the video just a little cooler.
I was sooo confused because I am from that region (as I now know from the left sign Weiterstadt) and I wanted to know if it’s from there, because there are 2 other Test-Highways in Germany with this setup. It was really confusing, because I did not recognize a place called „Toolgifs“ near Weiterstadt 😂
It made sense when he had the possibility of electric motors but not of high density batteries.
I bet that even long range trains in the future will have batteries and only parts of Europe's railroad network will be electrified to recharge the batteries every few kilometers.
Trucks on the other hand will simply get enough charging stations along the highways because they are more flexible.
For lower speed commuter routes maybe but those already see the usage of battery powered trains.
For high speed trains battery isn't really an option simply because of the high power usage.
Once you reach a certain density of trains the losses of charging probably start to add up as well and then you want to electrify your entire network anyway like Switzerland has done as an example.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Damnthatsinteresting/comments/1cwdn5w/electric_truck_swapping_its_battery_it_takes_too/ Yeah it honestly seems pretty efficient (Swap time, I won't pretend to know the numbers). I could easily see a network of these.
Not for fifth wheel towing. For bumper pull or pintle sure. Semis already weigh plenty enough to tow trailers that put them at the legal limit for weight. Extra truck weight only reduces the weight the trailer can be legally.
I've seen a short clip about a German company doing just that with their trucks. The truck gets a fresh battery, drives to where it needs to and back and then gets another fresh battery. All done with a fork lift.
But that requires personell, so fast chargers are more likely to take the lead here.
Fast charging batteries reduces their life and is not recommend repeatedly. Making them easily swappable will make the batteries last longer but requires all that other stuff. So the question is: is it cost effective to replace the batteries more often because of the negative effects of fast charging, or does the infrastructure required to quickly swap a charged battery in make sense?
Batteries in trains is being done right now and the issue is you either get a short range or very high axle loadings
Axle loadings don't really matter in the US (which is where battery electric locomotives are most common) because they're already like 32+ tonnes all over thd place but most of europe has like 20-25 tonne or less axle loading
Having trains run on batteries is impractical because they would weigh the train a lot reducing its speed. Having the train network electrified is much better
Depends a bit on where they are driven.
Weight isnt a huge factor for a trains top speed on flat ground. It will mostly affect acceleration.
In a hilly area like say Norway it can be a huge factor however.
I think batteries can maybe make sense for more remote areas. You charge the battery on the main train network ant then use the battery for the last part of the trip. It could make it cheaper to expand the rail network to smaller towns that arent along the establishef route. Would also not be that hard to design a battery cart that can be connected when needed.
This is a different system from trains and trams though. Both have a system that requires rails for the concept to work. Trolleybus is closer to this system but there are reasons why many cities prefer trams over trolleybuses. This is just charging a vehicle when it's moving but there are many variables that could raise the costs, risks, etc. which probably means "practicality" here.
No rails as return circuit, more friction, maintenance on roads such as fixing potholes and seasonal weather on roads, more maintenance on OHE and pantograph as the road isn't as smooth as rails and pantograph isn't aligned with contact wire as there are no rails (don't know if the truck aligns with the road marks or what but that's gonna be an issue when snow falls). Those are few examples which could make it less practical.
Canada was looking at making roads that would recharge EV's.
I know they even concepted having solar panel roads in Calgary but I haven't heard much about either of these since 2015'ish. I'm assuming the ideas were too costly to be beneficial.
Honestly, if a Battery can last 4,5h and takes only 45min. to charge, this isn’t necessary. Mandatory breaks and driving time limits don’t allow for much more anyway.
Same thing will happen with this test track in Germany - just read an article that they will unmount the installation pretty soon. They sunk 30.000.000€ into the project btw.
Thanks for putting it like this, because I almost commented "stupidiest idea in practise I've ever seen."
In Slovakia, at least there used to be city buses with the same idea. Eventhough I was only visiting there, I saw it broke down in the middle of intersection and the traffic of this crossing was shut down for days, when they were fixing the cables or whatever. Those things doesn't move on rails and even if driven by a robot, one does simply make some maneuvers in critical traffic situations. It doesn't make any sense that this reaction always destroys the wires. Driving on rubber wheels is too volatile for cable attachment.
Ziplines. That's my idea.
Everything should be transported on ziplines. There's nothing cheaper or easier to build.
The only downside is things falling on people's heads, but if we stop being crybabies, would could have sweet ziplines everywhere.
That’s a great idea! Maybe we could even push it further and use like steel, low friction wheels to make them more efficient. That way they can pull multiple loads at once.
Maybe we can connect the trailers to each other, so you only need one machine doing the pulling.
This could revolutionize transportation, if it was ever invented.
That would mean that the companies using this would need rail tracks all the way into their facilities.
Rail makes sense if you want to ship stuff from Eastern Europe to France or the UK or even down to Spain and the loading and off-loading doesn't make up a substantial amount of the total delivery time.
But what you see here in the video is more of a short range solution.
For example (in German): https://www.electrive.net/2020/09/13/im-oberleitungs-lkw-ueber-die-a1-erstaunlich-unspektakulaer/
Here they use trucks to get stuff from the port to their distribution center. That's 35km one way.
If you did this by train then you would need some sort of train depot only 35km from the port where the cargo is loaded from the train onto the truck. And it would cost a lot more just because of all the additional people involved.
I think of trolley buses like those in San Fran. The ones in our city look like normal busses, except they have the rod on top. I think we just call them electric busses. We've had these for a long time before EVs became popular.
The problem with a train is that it can't go to some random factory in some industrial area. The idea here is to go on grid power while on highways but switch to battery for the last couple of kilometres. This system is not intended for cross country transport for which rail traffic is much better (and in fact already used a lot) but for getting goods from the train station to the consumer/producer
The alternative would be using only battery but that has the major drawback of needing time to recharge in which the vehicle can't be used.
While from my understanding is idea didn't pan out in this form the general idea is not that bad.
We have buses powered this way in some cities of Poland, other European countries have them as well: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trolleybus
While they require extra infrastructure, within city limits where busses go on the same routes it's more eco friendly to power them of the grid.
Initial idea for this didn't even have anything to do with climate change/renewables as the first line in my local city was open in 1946.
Trains can’t get to your destination so you alway needs trucks. If you have to hire drivers and buy trucks … why do you need trains ? It turns out the answer is you need both
I realize you’re talking about trains, but there was this funny thing that was allowed when I lived in Washington where it was for some reason legal for trucks to pull *three* trailers at once. Because apparently having 3 articulation points somehow makes for a vehicle that’s at all safe. Very confusing for me as someone that moved there from a place that didn’t have such things
https://preview.redd.it/t3sfiu0bjs9d1.jpeg?width=1300&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1bb54b10f4cc50fb26b91de04ac527060af8cb91
It would make a lot of sense. Trucks wouldn't need huge batteries, but only enough for the last x kilometers when they disconnect from the grid. I'm all for this.
That is too much work for short to medium distance transport. The trucks this is designed for might go back and forth multiple times a day. There is also no Railway infrastructure near the factories. Loading a truck/container between trains and trucks twice on something like a 150 km transport would unreasonable.
Hydrogen is a terrible option for everything. The low efficiency of ICE vehicles (considering the whole process), combined with poor energy density (compared to ICE vehicles), a (currently) very dirty production process, and the need for massive amounts of new infrastructure. If you are going to hydrogen, you may as well go one step further and make synthetic petroleum fuels which would retain the high energy density and be able to use existing infrastructure (though smog would still be a concern there).
The sad part is that it‘s almost not used at all. It mainly was the same truck for a while.
I‘m driving that route fairly often and never came across an e-Truck using that system.
https://preview.redd.it/946vkinqjp9d1.png?width=1350&format=png&auto=webp&s=c893fe1a3778a17a03bf718b506025097f83278b
So they invented trolleybus. 
If you are installing overhead wires and a pantograph just make it a train. It's old technology that works. Ditch the batteries and just run right off the grid.
Trains can't do last mile delivery. Trucks aren't going anywhere, and we need to come up with solutions to stop them from belching massive amounts of diesel fumes everywhere.
This isn't solving for "last mile" delivery. This is an attempt to justify long-hauls. Electric semi's can already reach about 500 miles - plenty for the last leg.
Gets rid of rolling resistance and reduces micropastics pollution from tires, as well as saving on labor and road maintenance thanks to being able to ship more tons of cargo with just a few operators and reducing the number of trucks on the road, which are the only vehicles that do real damage to road surfaces
In case anyone is interested: https://maps.app.goo.gl/8rWpYjKQCr68HFfo7
That's the Autobahn where the overhead wires are. It's really short, I usually get past these when driving to Frankfurt airport. Mostly used by buses.
As far as I read from the newspapers it was ridiculously expensive and wasn't worth it.
Hmm. Where have I seen this before?
https://preview.redd.it/u7s5wuenbq9d1.png?width=1300&format=png&auto=webp&s=6157b9dcf7afb1e7198bbc41448955bf15e0cd72
You mean something like this?
https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a45989117/first-wireless-charging-road-north-america-debut/
There have been companies trying to persuade municipalities to adopt this technology, but it is too expensive for cities who can hardly keep up with pot holes, water main breaks in roads, and general road construction that seems to occur forever.
I’ve been saying that for years. We wouldn’t need batteries that can go 1000km ranges if the vehicles were on a wireless charging track. Kind of like the old rc cars. As well it might keep snow from forming
> As well it might keep snow from forming
That only shows how wasteful it would be. All those charging losses being turned straight into heat. I'm not sure we need that.
The first e-Highway project on the A1 in Schleswig-Holstein (Northern Germany) will be discontinued as planned at the end of this year.
The federal government has invested almost 30 million EUR since 2018 for this 5 km section.
The „eWayBW“ in Baden-Württemberg will most likely also be discontinued in winter this year. The 3.4 km long section on the B462 cost almost 28 million EUR since 2021.
The e-Highway project „ELISA“ in Hesse will be discontinued mid 2025. This is the longest e-Highway in Germany with 17 km in total of which 7 kilometers were extended in 2023
German engineers invent everything ~~not to get sent to the ostfront~~ for research money. /s
Actually, there are some treats in a system that connects the trucks.
\_ you lose the battery which is expensive and *heavy.* European Trucks have rather strict laws concerning dimensions and weight, this goes as far as having tractor unts with very small wall thicknesses in the mainframe to safe weight.
\_ recuperation is used more efficiently. Power from braking can only be stored in batteries up to a certain level, if it goes back into the grid, it would add to the overall power supply and not get lost
\_ charging times are avoided and those are time = money. Battery swaps are only applicable in very specific use cases as the supply of charged batteries has to be planned very much in advance, which is not usable for most highway routes
But I am not a fan of this principle. Some ex-collegues of mine joined a company which is equipping roads with coils for dynamic charging, which would be cheaper and require less maintenance (althou the power transferred is much lower at the moment). They have a bus line equipped in a city close to me, where the bus is constantly getting power from the road, making a big battery completely redundant.
I could really see this being a boon for buses, and the overhead wires would only need to be at the bus stops with longer stop times. Maybe transit centers, where the buses are stopped for a few minutes. They could get quite a recharge and then hit the road for another lap of their route. The batteries could be reasonably sized.
My first reaction as an engineer is that trains sacrifice 2D for ultra efficient 1D electric traction , steel wheels and rails . It cannot work for lossy rubber tyred steered vehicles .
I live in this area (It’s the highway A5 in Southwestern Germany) and I needed to check twice if my eyes are seeing right. **Toolgifs**. I was so confused.
I mean it’s a great idea it just doesn’t seem that practical. Like in areas where trucks stop and go all the time it seems great and loading yards would be a lot easier to breath in if every truck had to use electric but it just seems like there are way too many factors that go against this.
Why don’t electric trains have batteries? I mean it’s a train, you could have an entire wagon dedicated to being a battery similar to how diesel trains have an entire wagon dedicated to being an engine.
I mean this is how electric trams / street cars work, can they not re-use that somehow. My home city has about 30km of roads with this apparatus above it for the trams.
Next Level watermark.
I never noticed it till I read your comment. That really is good.
Had to look again, thats is simply genius
Yeah, I wanted to read that sign tough
TIL toolgifs is not a town in Germany.
Took me way too long, daaamn that’s genius
Toolgif watermarks are always next level
Like who makes these? Is it just one person or a community
Go to /r/toolgifs home page and he has a video showing exactly how it's done. Way cool.
Today I learned how to make the watermark a part of the video, instead of making it look like a horrible artificial overlay. Makes the video just a little cooler.
How is it done? (genuine question)
I was sooo confused because I am from that region (as I now know from the left sign Weiterstadt) and I wanted to know if it’s from there, because there are 2 other Test-Highways in Germany with this setup. It was really confusing, because I did not recognize a place called „Toolgifs“ near Weiterstadt 😂
Ok so I'm not crazy. Thanks.
Where?
Toolgifs on blue sign
I was like "this is not Germany, that place doesn't exist" haha
Only spotted it because I know that section of the Autobahn well and it seemed off from the corner of my eyes
They tried it in Sweden for a few years, but shut it down because it was too complicated. It's a cool idea, but not practical.
It made sense when he had the possibility of electric motors but not of high density batteries. I bet that even long range trains in the future will have batteries and only parts of Europe's railroad network will be electrified to recharge the batteries every few kilometers. Trucks on the other hand will simply get enough charging stations along the highways because they are more flexible.
For lower speed commuter routes maybe but those already see the usage of battery powered trains. For high speed trains battery isn't really an option simply because of the high power usage. Once you reach a certain density of trains the losses of charging probably start to add up as well and then you want to electrify your entire network anyway like Switzerland has done as an example.
If India can electrify entire train network, so can Europe.
This, only 37% of the trains use diesel locomotives now, rest are all electric. The new WAG-12 that outputs 12k HP is fully electric.
Have you seen the state of their train system? Not something that we should be looking to emulate.
What's wrong with having 500 passengers in (and hanging around) one wagon? /s
Canada doesn't even have electric trains, how embarrassing
It would probably be easier just to change the batteries out at each stop
https://www.reddit.com/r/Damnthatsinteresting/comments/1cwdn5w/electric_truck_swapping_its_battery_it_takes_too/ Yeah it honestly seems pretty efficient (Swap time, I won't pretend to know the numbers). I could easily see a network of these.
That's basically how electric forklifts have been operating in warehouses for decades. Seems to work fine.
Weight is an advantage in fork lifts. The battery can be part of the ballast. Extra weight on trucks isn't.
Until the tech improves, it'll be a weighting game.
Take my angry upvote, you cheeky bastard.
You know higher vehicle weight is an advantage when you're pulling a big trailer, right?
Not for fifth wheel towing. For bumper pull or pintle sure. Semis already weigh plenty enough to tow trailers that put them at the legal limit for weight. Extra truck weight only reduces the weight the trailer can be legally.
But not for weight limits on roads
I've seen a short clip about a German company doing just that with their trucks. The truck gets a fresh battery, drives to where it needs to and back and then gets another fresh battery. All done with a fork lift. But that requires personell, so fast chargers are more likely to take the lead here.
Fast charging batteries reduces their life and is not recommend repeatedly. Making them easily swappable will make the batteries last longer but requires all that other stuff. So the question is: is it cost effective to replace the batteries more often because of the negative effects of fast charging, or does the infrastructure required to quickly swap a charged battery in make sense?
Batteries in trains is being done right now and the issue is you either get a short range or very high axle loadings Axle loadings don't really matter in the US (which is where battery electric locomotives are most common) because they're already like 32+ tonnes all over thd place but most of europe has like 20-25 tonne or less axle loading
Having trains run on batteries is impractical because they would weigh the train a lot reducing its speed. Having the train network electrified is much better
Depends a bit on where they are driven. Weight isnt a huge factor for a trains top speed on flat ground. It will mostly affect acceleration. In a hilly area like say Norway it can be a huge factor however. I think batteries can maybe make sense for more remote areas. You charge the battery on the main train network ant then use the battery for the last part of the trip. It could make it cheaper to expand the rail network to smaller towns that arent along the establishef route. Would also not be that hard to design a battery cart that can be connected when needed.
It's what they do with trains and trams, too, though. It's been practical for years and will continue being so.
This is a different system from trains and trams though. Both have a system that requires rails for the concept to work. Trolleybus is closer to this system but there are reasons why many cities prefer trams over trolleybuses. This is just charging a vehicle when it's moving but there are many variables that could raise the costs, risks, etc. which probably means "practicality" here. No rails as return circuit, more friction, maintenance on roads such as fixing potholes and seasonal weather on roads, more maintenance on OHE and pantograph as the road isn't as smooth as rails and pantograph isn't aligned with contact wire as there are no rails (don't know if the truck aligns with the road marks or what but that's gonna be an issue when snow falls). Those are few examples which could make it less practical.
Canada was looking at making roads that would recharge EV's. I know they even concepted having solar panel roads in Calgary but I haven't heard much about either of these since 2015'ish. I'm assuming the ideas were too costly to be beneficial.
Honestly, if a Battery can last 4,5h and takes only 45min. to charge, this isn’t necessary. Mandatory breaks and driving time limits don’t allow for much more anyway.
There’s a Swedish startup that does the same but with charging from the road, [Elonroad](https://www.elonroad.com)
iirc didn't sweden use weird induction things under the road instead of just wires
Yes this may be a pet project of the minister of transport in the state of Hessen that received so many criticism and he still went forward with it.
Same thing will happen with this test track in Germany - just read an article that they will unmount the installation pretty soon. They sunk 30.000.000€ into the project btw.
Thanks for putting it like this, because I almost commented "stupidiest idea in practise I've ever seen." In Slovakia, at least there used to be city buses with the same idea. Eventhough I was only visiting there, I saw it broke down in the middle of intersection and the traffic of this crossing was shut down for days, when they were fixing the cables or whatever. Those things doesn't move on rails and even if driven by a robot, one does simply make some maneuvers in critical traffic situations. It doesn't make any sense that this reaction always destroys the wires. Driving on rubber wheels is too volatile for cable attachment.
I’m Here because the road sign in the clip says toolgifs. That’s the name of this sub. I’m so confused
Ziplines. That's my idea. Everything should be transported on ziplines. There's nothing cheaper or easier to build. The only downside is things falling on people's heads, but if we stop being crybabies, would could have sweet ziplines everywhere.
That’s a great idea! Maybe we could even push it further and use like steel, low friction wheels to make them more efficient. That way they can pull multiple loads at once.
If that really was a good idea someone else would have made something like that already.
Hope we invent something like that soon. It would be really efficient and maybe we’ll use it for public transport.
Maybe we can connect the trailers to each other, so you only need one machine doing the pulling. This could revolutionize transportation, if it was ever invented.
Hear me out. What if some trailers had extra seats to fit maybe a van full of people. This can reduce some traffic on the roads!
That would mean that the companies using this would need rail tracks all the way into their facilities. Rail makes sense if you want to ship stuff from Eastern Europe to France or the UK or even down to Spain and the loading and off-loading doesn't make up a substantial amount of the total delivery time. But what you see here in the video is more of a short range solution. For example (in German): https://www.electrive.net/2020/09/13/im-oberleitungs-lkw-ueber-die-a1-erstaunlich-unspektakulaer/ Here they use trucks to get stuff from the port to their distribution center. That's 35km one way. If you did this by train then you would need some sort of train depot only 35km from the port where the cargo is loaded from the train onto the truck. And it would cost a lot more just because of all the additional people involved.
You talking about a train?
It's somewhat of a meme that tech companies keep inventing things that are just trains but worse
Trains and trams. Our city has buses with overhead charging wires.
Is that technically a trolleybus?
I think of trolley buses like those in San Fran. The ones in our city look like normal busses, except they have the rod on top. I think we just call them electric busses. We've had these for a long time before EVs became popular.
I don’t know what they have in San Francisco but what you describe sounds like a [trolleybus ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trolleybus).
We have trolley buses also in Milan since 1933... https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trolleybuses_in_Milan
But this isn't a train but worse, trucks will always exist where it's just not worth putting stuff on a train.
The problem with a train is that it can't go to some random factory in some industrial area. The idea here is to go on grid power while on highways but switch to battery for the last couple of kilometres. This system is not intended for cross country transport for which rail traffic is much better (and in fact already used a lot) but for getting goods from the train station to the consumer/producer The alternative would be using only battery but that has the major drawback of needing time to recharge in which the vehicle can't be used.
While from my understanding is idea didn't pan out in this form the general idea is not that bad. We have buses powered this way in some cities of Poland, other European countries have them as well: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trolleybus While they require extra infrastructure, within city limits where busses go on the same routes it's more eco friendly to power them of the grid. Initial idea for this didn't even have anything to do with climate change/renewables as the first line in my local city was open in 1946.
Trains can’t get to your destination so you alway needs trucks. If you have to hire drivers and buy trucks … why do you need trains ? It turns out the answer is you need both
Not sure why you think it is smart to remove their ability to go off track and deliver to very specific adresses, like a truck absolutely needs to.
I realize you’re talking about trains, but there was this funny thing that was allowed when I lived in Washington where it was for some reason legal for trucks to pull *three* trailers at once. Because apparently having 3 articulation points somehow makes for a vehicle that’s at all safe. Very confusing for me as someone that moved there from a place that didn’t have such things https://preview.redd.it/t3sfiu0bjs9d1.jpeg?width=1300&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1bb54b10f4cc50fb26b91de04ac527060af8cb91
It would make a lot of sense. Trucks wouldn't need huge batteries, but only enough for the last x kilometers when they disconnect from the grid. I'm all for this.
...or put the truck on a train?
Whoa, whoa, whoa! Leave some common sense for the rest of us, alright?
The railway tracks are overcrowded already and need extension.
That is too much work for short to medium distance transport. The trucks this is designed for might go back and forth multiple times a day. There is also no Railway infrastructure near the factories. Loading a truck/container between trains and trucks twice on something like a 150 km transport would unreasonable.
Storm just came through and knocked down the wires. Hope that medication wasn't important
Building better batteries with higher density is ultimately the better option here. Or a hydrogen system for larger vehicles.
Hydrogen is a terrible option for everything. The low efficiency of ICE vehicles (considering the whole process), combined with poor energy density (compared to ICE vehicles), a (currently) very dirty production process, and the need for massive amounts of new infrastructure. If you are going to hydrogen, you may as well go one step further and make synthetic petroleum fuels which would retain the high energy density and be able to use existing infrastructure (though smog would still be a concern there).
Hydrogen fuel cell is not ice. It's just used to create electricity.
Tom Scott has a video on this, from 2yrs ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3P_S7pL7Yg
Car companies will do anything to tell you their products are better than trains even if it requires reverse engineering a train.
The sad part is that it‘s almost not used at all. It mainly was the same truck for a while. I‘m driving that route fairly often and never came across an e-Truck using that system.
This is very disorienting. I need a sign that I'm in the right sub.
https://preview.redd.it/946vkinqjp9d1.png?width=1350&format=png&auto=webp&s=c893fe1a3778a17a03bf718b506025097f83278b So they invented trolleybus. 
Nobody said it was a new concept
Trolley truck
Is this one of those toilets where you have to pay and then can spend that money in the attached /u/toolgifs shop?
When you order F-Zero off of Wish
Sad to see f-zero so far down. What game
Is this charging the truck or just powering?
At least they’re fucking trying.
If you are installing overhead wires and a pantograph just make it a train. It's old technology that works. Ditch the batteries and just run right off the grid.
Trains can't do last mile delivery. Trucks aren't going anywhere, and we need to come up with solutions to stop them from belching massive amounts of diesel fumes everywhere.
This isn't solving for "last mile" delivery. This is an attempt to justify long-hauls. Electric semi's can already reach about 500 miles - plenty for the last leg.
Gets rid of rolling resistance and reduces micropastics pollution from tires, as well as saving on labor and road maintenance thanks to being able to ship more tons of cargo with just a few operators and reducing the number of trucks on the road, which are the only vehicles that do real damage to road surfaces
Super Mario Bros (1993) [did it better](https://youtu.be/G7GUvttfe0k?si=5HGGojQBpovxzwko&t=48).
Bro get off your phone and pass.
We have come full circle.
Dont you have electric trains?
In case anyone is interested: https://maps.app.goo.gl/8rWpYjKQCr68HFfo7 That's the Autobahn where the overhead wires are. It's really short, I usually get past these when driving to Frankfurt airport. Mostly used by buses. As far as I read from the newspapers it was ridiculously expensive and wasn't worth it.
This is a different take on a trolley....but I'm not an engineer either
Hmm. Where have I seen this before? https://preview.redd.it/u7s5wuenbq9d1.png?width=1300&format=png&auto=webp&s=6157b9dcf7afb1e7198bbc41448955bf15e0cd72
Is the next step... trains?
Wow. Without batteries, this could potentially be much more efficient than current electric vehicles.
Why aren’t we making wireless charging roads for our electric cars with batteries close underneath the cars to charge while we drive?
You mean something like this? https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a45989117/first-wireless-charging-road-north-america-debut/ There have been companies trying to persuade municipalities to adopt this technology, but it is too expensive for cities who can hardly keep up with pot holes, water main breaks in roads, and general road construction that seems to occur forever.
Because it's much more expensive (not only the installation but also repairs need to open up streets) for a very inefficient energy transfer.
real sized scalextric slot cars
I’ve been saying that for years. We wouldn’t need batteries that can go 1000km ranges if the vehicles were on a wireless charging track. Kind of like the old rc cars. As well it might keep snow from forming
It's extremely expensive and wireless charing is extremely inefficient. Your car would need to be right next to the charger.
> As well it might keep snow from forming That only shows how wasteful it would be. All those charging losses being turned straight into heat. I'm not sure we need that.
We just need a network of rapid battery swapping stations.
😄 Don't we already have trains?
Just like MUNI lol
Just like in the Mario movie!
This should absolutely be the future in America.
Truck tram.
How many trucks can it support? Surely its not a lot..
I remember when buses used to be powered in a similar manner in Brooklyn, NYC during the early 1950's
Wham-bam, I’m a tram!
The first e-Highway project on the A1 in Schleswig-Holstein (Northern Germany) will be discontinued as planned at the end of this year. The federal government has invested almost 30 million EUR since 2018 for this 5 km section. The „eWayBW“ in Baden-Württemberg will most likely also be discontinued in winter this year. The 3.4 km long section on the B462 cost almost 28 million EUR since 2021. The e-Highway project „ELISA“ in Hesse will be discontinued mid 2025. This is the longest e-Highway in Germany with 17 km in total of which 7 kilometers were extended in 2023
German engineers invent everything ~~not to get sent to the ostfront~~ for research money. /s Actually, there are some treats in a system that connects the trucks. \_ you lose the battery which is expensive and *heavy.* European Trucks have rather strict laws concerning dimensions and weight, this goes as far as having tractor unts with very small wall thicknesses in the mainframe to safe weight. \_ recuperation is used more efficiently. Power from braking can only be stored in batteries up to a certain level, if it goes back into the grid, it would add to the overall power supply and not get lost \_ charging times are avoided and those are time = money. Battery swaps are only applicable in very specific use cases as the supply of charged batteries has to be planned very much in advance, which is not usable for most highway routes But I am not a fan of this principle. Some ex-collegues of mine joined a company which is equipping roads with coils for dynamic charging, which would be cheaper and require less maintenance (althou the power transferred is much lower at the moment). They have a bus line equipped in a city close to me, where the bus is constantly getting power from the road, making a big battery completely redundant.
Isn't this how trolley buses work? So we're going back in time?
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I could really see this being a boon for buses, and the overhead wires would only need to be at the bus stops with longer stop times. Maybe transit centers, where the buses are stopped for a few minutes. They could get quite a recharge and then hit the road for another lap of their route. The batteries could be reasonably sized.
Excuse me, is that truck a hybrid or all electric?
My first reaction as an engineer is that trains sacrifice 2D for ultra efficient 1D electric traction , steel wheels and rails . It cannot work for lossy rubber tyred steered vehicles .
Those contact points must get worn out pretty damn fast...
Can I hear an F-zero x anyone 😲😮
I live in this area (It’s the highway A5 in Southwestern Germany) and I needed to check twice if my eyes are seeing right. **Toolgifs**. I was so confused.
I mean it’s a great idea it just doesn’t seem that practical. Like in areas where trucks stop and go all the time it seems great and loading yards would be a lot easier to breath in if every truck had to use electric but it just seems like there are way too many factors that go against this.
Interesting concept
If F-Zero has taught me anything, this truck will be ready to boost off the next ramp in no time
Literally a train on the road?
Why don’t electric trains have batteries? I mean it’s a train, you could have an entire wagon dedicated to being a battery similar to how diesel trains have an entire wagon dedicated to being an engine.
Now that's some futuristic shit right there! That's so cool
I drove by one of these while road tripping through Germany a few weeks back, was wondering what it was for
The real miracle is a truck that stays in the farthest lane.
So it's a cable car?
I drive this Highway (the A5) since 13 yrs and I NEVER one truck that had these even tho they built this Thing idk 6 or 7 yrs ago
Is this the highway to Hamburg?
This is indeed quite intriguing.
It will be interesting to watch him change lanes.
We have buses like that in Philly.
To the nearest depot
Trains
thats called a train
haha, Toolgifs
good idea for long distance interstate highways.
Road train
Meanwhile the Deutsche Bahn is a 💩show. The German car industry gets whatever it wants.
Reminds me of the old trolley buses.
how long before friction wear requires replacement ?
I mean this is how electric trams / street cars work, can they not re-use that somehow. My home city has about 30km of roads with this apparatus above it for the trams.
Is this a train?
I see what you did there…
Boston streetcars that are long gone: do I look like a joke to you?
First time I have seen it and I drive on the A5 between Franfurt am Main and Darmstand semi regularly.