Experts to Lund to discuss electrification of road transport
On 19 and 20 March, decision-makers, researchers, experts and those involved in other ways in creating a fossil-free transport sector will gather in Lund to discuss how to create an overview and deeper understanding of the challenges and solutions in electrification of transport infrastructure. The Conference caters to interested people from all over the world.
- We are running out of time to reach the emission targets and through this conference we are focusing on solutions - what scenarios does the research highlight as possible to reach the emissions targets by 2035? At the conference there is a chance to discuss with researchers, community actors and the business community, giving a chance to participate and make an impact. Evolution Road is an electric road project that has been working with electric roads for several years, and in the meantime we have accumulated a lot of knowledge about electric road technology and its potential. What we have learned, we want to spread it,” says Anna Wilkens, communicator in the Evolution Road project.
The conference will present for the first time a new European research study on ways to greatly accelerated emissions reductions from Europe's road traffic. Conference participants will contribute further through input on how identified barriers can be removed. The study has been led by Jakob Rogstadius, senior researcher from the Research Institutes of Sweden, RISO, and Doctor of Informatics and conducted by researchers at RISE, LTH, VTI and the Fraunhofer Institute, supported by an international reference group of experts in many different domains. The study looks at the results of other researchers to create a clearer picture of solutions for electrified transport
- Europe's demand for emission reductions from road traffic concerns newly produced vehicles, which means that the emission targets for road traffic are much less ambitious than they are for society as a whole, says Jakob Rogstadius, RISE. For society at large, the EU's greenhouse gas emission reduction targets are in line with the recommendations of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). For road traffic, especially heavy traffic, the ambition level is significantly lower according to today's targets. The aim of the study is to make an inventory of the state of knowledge in order to identify solutions for the EU to significantly reduce these emissions before 2035. At the conference, we will present what the research says, what different proposed technological solutions can realistically contribute to and discuss how to scale them up politically and industrially. The study will be published publicly after the conference and will then include recommendations that conference participants helped to design. Behavioural changes are also required if greenhouse gas emissions are to be reduced fast enough, but these are not the focus of this study.
The conference will also include presentations from Mats Alaküla, Professor of Industrial Electrical Engineering at LTH, David Cebon, Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Cambridge, Jan Pettersson, Trafikverket's Programme Manager for Electrification of Heavy Transport and Karin Ebbinghaus, Managing Director at Elonroad.
It also provides an opportunity to discuss and network with other decision-makers and experts, both from Sweden and internationally. In addition, there will be a chance to visit Getingvägen, where participants will be given the opportunity to explore the benefits and potential of electric road systems.
Various technologies for electric roads
Several different electric road technologies are currently being tested in Sweden. Some options use conductive transmission of current through connectors. The transmission then takes place either via hanging wires or through a trailing contact against energized rails in the roadway. In other solutions, inductive transmission of current (electromagnetic fields) is tested using current-transmitting technology buried in the roadway.
Evolution Road
Evolution Road is an electric road project funded by the Swedish Transport Administration.
The project is testing to charge driving electric vehicles conductively via an energized rail in the roadway. The experiments are based on technology from the Lund company Elonroad.
Project partners are Elonroad, LTH, The power ring, Lund Municipality, Ramboll AB, Skånetrafiken, Solaris Sweden AB, VTI and Innovation Skåne.
Future by Lund was involved in the project at an early stage, including through assistance with the project application.
Evolution Road has made many lessons about electric roads but has also created experiences around how to collaborate with innovation across sectors.
RISO
RISE (Research Institutes of Sweden) is an independent government research institute and acts as an innovation partner for society to help develop technologies, products, services and processes that contribute to a sustainable world and a competitive business world.
The Riksdag's goal is to achieve a fossil-independent vehicle fleet in Sweden, including through investments in vehicle electrification. In the field, RISE offers expertise in the absolute research front, and has extensive experience in testing new electromobility solutions in real life.
Footnote: In 2020, Innovation Skåne was supposed to organize the international electric road conference Electric Road Systems Conference, but due to the coronavirus pandemic, it could not be implemented. At that time it was VTI that was behind the planned arrangement, while now it is Evolution Road and RISE that are arranging. The Swedish Transport Administration finances Evolution Road in Lund, but also several other electric road projects around Sweden.