Siemens will build an overhead contact line for electrified freight transport on a 10-kilometer stretch of autobahn in the German state of Hesse.

The line will supply electricity for the electric drive of a hybrid truck. The system will be installed on the A5 autobahn between the Zeppelinheim/Cargo City Süd interchange at the Frankfurt Airport and the Darmstadt/Weiterstadt interchange.

(Read "Sweden's eHighway to Test Viability of Electric Trucking.")

Siemens will be responsible for planning, building and, as an option, maintaining the system. The system is being built as part of the joint project "Electrified, innovative heavy freight transport on autobahns" (ELISA) of Germany's Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB). Hessen Mobil, responsible for road and transport management in Hesse, is managing the project.

The system includes a pantograph on the trucks combined with a hybrid drive system. Trucks equipped with the system operate locally emission-free with electricity from the overhead line and automatically switch to a hybrid engine on roads without overhead lines.

Siemens originally presented its "eHighway" concept in 2012.