OREANDA-NEWS. June 27, 2016. Sweden lays claim to be the first country to test an electric highway for trucks. It's doing so on a 2km (1.2 miles) stretch on the E16 road near the city of Gavle, located north of capital Stockholm. The trial eHighway lets Scania hybrid trucks draw power from through overhead power lines, much like trams.

When connected, the trucks emit zero emissions. They'll revert back to using diesel once off the power grid. Siemens, who's providing the tech for the truck in collaboration with Scania, says the eHighway is "twice as efficient" as conventional engines.

With transport accounting for more than one third of Sweden's carbon dioxide emissions, the country is using the two-year trial to see if it's possible for a further deployment in the future. Besides Sweden, Siemens is also planning another eHighway project in California in partnership with Volvo.