The vehicle is the Scania El Fondo, which can drive on diesel right up to the highway. A year ago, a five-kilometre test route was electrified on the A5 between Langen/Mörfelden and Darmstadt/Weiterstadt as part of the ELISA project under the project management of Hessen Mobil. Once there, the truck's pantograph will dock onto the overhead line and the drive will switch to electric. At the end of the test route, the vehicle will continue to drive a few more kilometers electrically, as it has a battery that is charged by the overhead line and by means of recuperation.

"Even if five kilometers of test track per freeway direction may seem very little - they serve to test the principle," says Heinrich Kerstgens, Co-Managing Director of Contargo. "If the response is positive and around 30 percent of the German freeway network is equipped with overhead line infrastructure, around 80 percent of the heavy trucks registered in Germany will be able to drive electrified with this technology in the future. This will really make a decisive contribution to climate protection."

Gain experience

The vehicle was handed over to Rhenus Trucking, which is making it available to Contargo as a service provider. "In order to achieve the climate targets, we will have to use all available alternative drive systems in the future. It is therefore important to get to know them," said Sascha Hähnke, Managing Director of Rhenus Transport GmbH & Co. Initially, two drivers received theoretical and practical training from Scania. From now on, El Fondo will be used by Contargo in the Rhine-Main region for journeys south on the A5.

Christian Eichmeier, Managing Director of Contargo Rhein-Main GmbH: "As a regionally strong terminal network, we are focused in the trimodal transport sector on the transportation of goods by barge and rail. Our aim is to make the so-called 'first and last mile' of the transport route, which is covered by truck, as environmentally friendly as possible. Participating in the ELISA project gives us the opportunity to test this type of drive and contribute to research. We are thus taking another important step towards reducing our_{CO2 footprint} even further in the future."

For Contargo, this is not the first heavy-duty truck with an electric drive. The company is already testing fully electric trucks with a total weight of 44 tons in local transport at other locations. "One third of_{CO2 emissions} from road traffic in Germany are caused by freight transport," says Kristin Kahl, Management Sustainable Solutions. "We are taking part in this field trial because we want to achieve decarbonization by 2050. On the way there, we are open to different drive systems. As in many other areas, we are proceeding according to the 'trial and error' method, because it is often only in practice that it becomes clear where improvements still need to be made. We think it is quite conceivable to use overhead line hybrid trucks in long-distance transport. They have the charming advantage that the battery can be charged without the vehicle being stationary during this time."