An Electric Road System or Big Batteries: Implications for UK Road Freight

Abstract

An Electric Road System (ERS)—comprising a network of overhead cables to charge HGVs via a pantograph pick-up—is a cost-competitive solution to rapidly decarbonise the UK road freight sector. A major benefit over conventional battery electric HGVs is the reduction in battery capacities needed to fulfil logistics needs. In this study, we develop a detailed vehicle simulation model and use it to calculate the battery capacity requirements of real UK logistics journeys against a range of ERS network sizes and on-route static charging options. The results show that, averaged over all static charging scenarios, ERS reduces battery sizes by 41%, 62%, and 75% for the ‘Light’ (2,750 km), ‘Medium’ (5,500 km) and ‘Heavy’ (8,500 km) ERS scenarios. Of the static charging scenarios, drop-off charging is shown to be more effective than rest stop charging at reducing battery sizes. Insights for policy makers are provided.

Keywords: Electric road systems, heavy goods vehicles, battery electric vehicles, charging infrastructure