BEV Goes eHighway

Integration of Overhead Line Technology in Batteryelectric Series Trucks for Road-based Heavy-duty Traffic

In the project “BEE – BEV Goes eHighway”, concepts for the integration of battery-electric trucks with overhead line technology into heavy-duty road traffic are being developed and evaluated. Two battery-electric trucks from large-scale production will be equipped with a pantograph system, tested and measured within dedicated test fields and in real traffic, customer acceptance will be assessed by means of exemplary user studies and the essential vehicle interfaces for system integration will be addressed in a standard proposal.

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A research project by:

BEV Goes eHighway

Integration of Overhead Line Technology in Batteryelectric Series Trucks for Road-based Heavy-duty Traffic

In the project “BEE – BEV Goes eHighway”, concepts for the integration of battery-electric trucks with overhead line technology into heavy-duty road traffic are being developed and evaluated. Two battery-electric trucks from large-scale production will be equipped with a pantograph system, tested and measured within dedicated test fields and in real traffic, customer acceptance will be assessed by means of exemplary user studies and the essential vehicle interfaces for system integration will be addressed in a standard proposal.

more

A research project by:

News

Event – Network Meeting for the Overhead Line Projects

On December 11th, our team co-organized the “Networking Meeting for Overhead Line Projects” in Frankfurt, bringing together over 100 participants to discuss the future of overhead line technology. Our project leader Gordon Witham presented our project and showcased our retrofitted battery-electric truck “Willi”. The event featured workshops on the field trial results, a plenary session […]

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First test drive at ELISA

The first drives on the ELISA overhead line test track have been completed. Lotte Wagner-Douglas and Gordon Witham have covered the first kilometres under the overhead line on the A5 between Frankfurt and Darmstadt. In addition to collecting measurement data in public road traffic, the aim was also to carry out a pre-test for the […]

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‘Willi’ fully wrapped and ready for further test drives

Our ‘Willi’ now shines in a new design! Our vehicle designers have created a customised wrap that is based on the project design and visually highlights the innovative technology behind the vehicle. With the vehicle wrapping, the conversion of ‘Willi’ is now complete and the vehicle is ready for the next test phase. The next […]

Read more
all news

News

Event – Network Meeting for the Overhead Line Projects

On December 11th, our team co-organized the “Networking Meeting for Overhead Line Projects” in Frankfurt, bringing together over 100 participants to discuss the future of overhead line technology. Our project leader Gordon Witham presented our project and showcased our retrofitted battery-electric truck “Willi”. The event featured workshops on the field trial results, a plenary session […]

Read more

First test drive at ELISA

The first drives on the ELISA overhead line test track have been completed. Lotte Wagner-Douglas and Gordon Witham have covered the first kilometres under the overhead line on the A5 between Frankfurt and Darmstadt. In addition to collecting measurement data in public road traffic, the aim was also to carry out a pre-test for the […]

Read more

‘Willi’ fully wrapped and ready for further test drives

Our ‘Willi’ now shines in a new design! Our vehicle designers have created a customised wrap that is based on the project design and visually highlights the innovative technology behind the vehicle. With the vehicle wrapping, the conversion of ‘Willi’ is now complete and the vehicle is ready for the next test phase. The next […]

Read more
all news

The Project

The aim of the project “BEE – BEV Goes eHighway” is the further development of overhead line technology for heavy goods road transport in order to establish fully electric drive alternatives in the long term. The focus is on the development of a catenary truck, testing within dedicated test fields as well as in real traffic, the preparation of user studies for customer acceptance and to determine potential user groups, technology and potential analyses and an analysis of the essential vehicle interfaces with the final development of a standard proposal. Within the project, the integration of overhead line technology on the basis of two battery-electric (BEV) series-production trucks is being investigated and evaluated. The focus is on the viewpoint of the vehicle manufacturer, for whom the duration of the conversion phase of the series vehicle is particularly relevant.

The vehicle manufacturer cannot currently use any set of standards as a guide to simplify the installation of the pantograph system. During the conversion phase, possible interfaces for a later standardisation of the system will be identified in cooperation with the developers of the pantograph system. This will simplify the conversion process in the future and thus create the basis for higher market penetration.

Within the project, the research vehicles enable a direct technology comparison of a pure BEV truck and a catenary BEV truck and thus offer the possibility to evaluate the CO₂ avoidance potential based on real driving data. The real driving data is determined through field tests.

Another outstanding feature of this project, in addition to the direct comparison of vehicles with and without catenary system, is the performance of extensive test drives on the grounds of several test facilities in Germany. This will allow the technology to be evaluated on a route-specific basis, thus demonstrating its potential for application on public roads. The expected high volume of recorded data provides a meaningful basis for the technology assessment. On this basis, further studies will then be carried out on, among other things, the necessary battery capacity, vehicle range and payload.

Technology Assessment in Real Operation

In the project “BEE – BEV Goes eHighway”, concepts for the integration of battery-electric trucks with overhead line technology into heavy-duty road traffic are being developed and evaluated. Two battery-electric trucks from large-scale production will be equipped with a pantograph system, tested and measured within dedicated test fields and in real traffic, customer acceptance will be assessed by means of exemplary user studies and the essential vehicle interfaces
for system integration will be addressed in a standard proposal.

Goals of the BEE Project

Interface Development

Interface Development

Together with vehicle and component manufacturers, a neutral system interface for the standardised integration of overhead contact line
technology is being designed.

Real Traffic Testing

Real Traffic Testing

Test drives in public road traffic with vehicles of different drive systems enable a practical technology evaluation.

User Acceptance

User Acceptance

Within user studies, drivers from the logistics industry are involved in the practical evaluation.

Contact

RWTH Aachen University
Responsible department: Institute for Automotive Engineering (ika)
Steinbachstraße 7
D – 52074 Aachen

Contact person
Gordon Witham M.Sc.
Group Leader Electric Powertrain
Phone | E-Mail