Days of Future Past: Electrified Heavy-Duty Vehicles

Whitepaper Overview

Public transportation is one of the next major innovation points for electric vehicles, emissions reduction, and "opportunity charging." A bus, noiselessly and without exhaust, approaches a bus stop because it has an electric drivetrain that takes the energy from batteries. While the doors open to allow passengers to leave and enter the bus, a pantograph on the bus’s roof automatically lifts up and attaches to the electric contacts of the local charging infrastructure. For the short time that it takes the passengers to leave, enter and take a seat, the vehicle’s batteries recharge.

With this so-called opportunity charging, the bus can continue its tour around the city without the need of longer breaks or pauses. This setup allows for continuous operation even around the clock despite the fact that the battery’s capacity alone would not be enough to do a one-day shift. Scenarios like this one became very common in the recent discussion about reducing the emissions in public transportation - but the idea is far from being brilliantly new.

In this whitepaper from Infineon, learn about electrification as a key to reduce emissions and improvements in energy storage technology, along with developments in supplemental infrastructure enable the fully autonomous long-haul operation.