---
title: "Germany Installed Cables Over a Highway to Power Electric Trucks"
description: "Germany's A5 highway outside Frankfurt just got a big upgrade: overhead power lines that can power hybrid trucks while they drive."
date: "2019-05-08"
modified: "2019-05-08"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/germany-electric-truck-highway"
categories:
  - "Advanced Transport"
tags:
  - "electric highway"
  - "electric vehicle"
  - "germany"
  - "the digest"
---

# Germany Installed Cables Over a Highway to Power Electric Trucks

![](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/germany-electric-truck-highway.png>)
*\<em\>Image: Siemens\</em\>*

## Electric Highway

A stretch of a prominent Germany highway just got a high-tech upgrade: overhead power lines — like the ones you only see over rail tracks — that can power hybrid trucks.

The German government [announced yesterday](<https://www.dw.com/en/germany-tests-first-ehighway-autobahn/a-48632817>) that a 6.2 mile (10 km) stretch of the autobahn got the upgrade, a test that could pave the way for a new carbon neutral strategy to transport goods.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zV2yZkRFBK0

The system, first developed by German conglomerate Siemens in 2012, allows hybrid big rigs to charge their batteries while traveling at speeds of up to 56 mph (90 km/h). Built-in sensors can notify the truck when to switch back to a combustion engine if there are no overhead cables available.

Similar stretches of electric highways have been [built in Sweden](<https://newatlas.com/sweden-electric-highway/44028/>) and the United States. Other solutions for charging electric vehicles while they drive include [rails built into the asphalt](<https://futurism.com/ev-charging-roads-sweden>).

## Cutting Emissions

Siemens is promising that the overhead lines can bring carbon emission reductions to other places where railways don't make sense or aren't possible to build.

Electrifying truck transportation could also save a ton of fuel: 20,000 euros worth for every truck traveling 62,000 miles (100,000 km), [according to Siemens' website](<https://new.siemens.com/global/en/products/mobility/road-solutions/electromobility/ehighway.html>).

**READ MORE:** [Germany is opening its first electric highway for trucks](<https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/07/tech/e-highway-a5/index.html>) \[*CNN*\]

**More on electric roads:** *[EV-Charging Roads Have Arrived. Here’s Why We Do (and Don’t) Need Them.](<https://futurism.com/ev-charging-roads-sweden>)*

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)