Sweden Alike Electric Highways in India May be a Reality Soon
Published On Nov 15, 2016
Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari has hinted towards the possibility of India getting an electric highway similar to the one in Sweden. The electric highway stretch will be built with help from Sweden, if the project materialises. Recently, Scania had built the world’s first electric highway in Sweden on a public private model.
The technology that has the ability to change the course of the transportation industry has been developed by Siemens in collaboration with the Swedish Government.
Mikael Damberg, Minister of Enterprise and Innovation, Sweden had called on Nitin Gadkari after the first meeting of the India-Sweden Business Leaders’ Roundtable. Mr Gadkari confirmed that he had an exchange of ideas with the Swedish delegation led by Mr Damberg.
Mr Gadkari said he wants to lay emphasis on the project as it is in tandem with government’s vision of curbing pollution and dependency on fossil fuels.
Sweden is the first country in the world to have built the electric highway. The trucks operating on the roads are connected to a power line through a pantograph power collector which is mounted on the top of the trucks. These are very similar to metro trains plying in New Delhi. Once the electric line ends, the trucks can continue their journey either with the help of combustion engines or through battery operated engine motors.
India has one of the largest transport systems in the world and produces millions of tonnes in carbon footprint. If implemented, the electric highway concept will not only cut pollution, but would also help the country in saving millions of dollars it spends on importing various fossil fuels.
