Siemens welcomes Swedish-German cooperation on electric road transportation

Today during German Chancellor Angela Merkel´s state visit a new innovation partnership between Sweden and Germany was launched. The joint announcement by Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven and Chancellor Merkel of "Innovation and Cooperation for a Sustainable Future" aims to strengthen the two nations' sustainability, economic and technological competitiveness, and includes four areas; mobility and electrical roads being one. A joint study of the eHighway technology and electrification of roads will be conducted, aiming to identify means for cross-border operability between Sweden and Germany and campaign at European level for the wider spread of the eHighway and road electrification technology.

The two governments’ announcement aims to strengthen the cooperation on developing technology that is already available, while also strengthening the two nations’ ability to compete with others in offering the best sustainability solutions as the world’s needs continue to change rapidly. A key focus of the cooperation between the two countries will be the development of electrified road transportation, work that has already been started by Siemens in cooperation with Scania.

The agreement also underlines the value of strategic partnerships in creating solutions for a future of sustainable transport. An example of such partnerships is the collaboration between Siemens and Scania on electrified road transportation, which resulted in the world’s first electrified public road for heavy goods traffic being opened outside of Sandviken, in central Sweden, in June 2016. The two-kilometer stretch of the E16 highway is run by the local Gävleborg authority and is the result of partnerships between various public and private sector entities in Sweden and Germany.

- Electrification is one of the cornerstones to decarbonize transportation and mobility of people and goods. Strategic partnerships such as the one announced between Sweden and Germany today, that underlines the importance of cooperation between policy makers, authorities, power and vehicle suppliers, road owners and other actors in the business area, is in line with what has made the Swedish pilot project successful, says Ulf Troedsson, CEO for Siemens in the Nordics and Baltics. We look forward to take the next steps in road electrification based on what we have learned from the pilot project with Scania, Region Gävleborg and the other partners in Sweden.