Large-scale electrification of heavy-duty road freight faces challenges including scarcity of charging infrastructure and high battery costs. Dynamic charging could help overcome these challenges by enabling trucks to charge while driving. Important additional benefits for carriers related to lower required sizes and longer lifetimes of batteries could justify the required investments. The study investigates the optimal configuration of network sections to be electrified so that the balance between costs and benefits turns out positive. A case study for a highway network spanning 4 countries in Europe suggests that dynamic charging can lead to a significant reduction in overall transport system costs, up to very large network sizes. The study supports the decision-making of policymakers and road authorities by providing new insights into the costs and benefits of dynamic charging networks, and simultaneously considering the perspectives of investors and users.

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Electric Road Systems offer dynamic charging infrastructure for electric trucks, by means of overhead lines or rails that conduct electricity, or through induction loops in the pavement. Charging trucks while they are moving has important advantages over stationary charging, as batteries can be smaller and drivers and cargo do not have to wait while recharging. There are significant knowledge gaps about optimal network sizes, impacts on different stakeholders and cost/benefits of these technologies. This paper summarizes 4 MSc thesis projects on these topics by students of TU Delft. Their findings support the growing insight that ERS could make the electric truck landscape more efficient than if based on stationary chargers alone.@en