r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/guyoffthegrid • 4d ago

Hybrid truck recharges from overhead wires Video

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5.6k Upvotes

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1

u/[deleted] 4d ago

It's not a question of if fossil fuels days are numbered, but rather one of when....

21

u/Jogaila2 4d ago

This tech is from the 50s.

You're dreaming if you think fossil fuels are going anywhere for a decade or two

14

u/mystonedalt 4d ago

A decade or two has already gone by like it was nothing. I am at that weird age where things I have that are 20 years old are "my new ones."

7

u/Impressive-Walrus527 4d ago

Many countries have passed legislation to phase out fossil fuel vehicles in the next decade or two. Not as crazy as you think.

5

u/Taborenja 4d ago

There is a colossal difference between prohibiting the sale of new ICE passenger vehicles and phasing out all kinds of ICE vehicles, including used passenger cars, semis, agricultural equipment, heavy machinery, all the specialized vehicles used in civil engineering, mining, logistics, factories, boats, planes, etc...

0

u/Defender_IIX 4d ago

Please tell me how you plan this to work, please start by explaining how you are going to restructure the power grid and sources for the vast amount of money it will need, oh and the tech you'll be using.

9

u/Redhotmegasystem 4d ago

I have an extra extension cable lying around somewhere that we could use

-2

u/CjBurden 4d ago

The tech I'm going to be using, after reading your incredibly obnoxious post, is the mute button.

🔇

It may not make the world a better place, but it'll sure as heck make reddit better for me!

1

u/Hopeful-Battle7329 4d ago edited 3d ago

This technology vanished in the past for three reasons:

  1. The technology wasn't that advanced. On the one hand, improved materials solve the problems with high wear. Improved technology keeps connectors on the power line, minimizing connection lost.

  2. This technology has a lower energy consumption and minimizes the energy costs but there was no model to let companies pay for the electricity they took while the technology requires costly additional infrastructure. However, the technology and energy were paid for by tax money. Governments have a financial interest to not build and maintain such infrastructure. But now, we know that we have to find a solution for human-made climate change and we know that we need to drastically reduce the use of fossil fuels. That means that governments have an interest in building and maintaining power lines over the motorways in order to switch trucks to electric drives.

  3. There was a political interest for supporting fossil fuels in the past and that was money. The big cashin' promised by car and oil companies got politicians into a pro-car and pro-fossil fuel mentality. It was a political decision, especially in the US where politicians sacrificed the quality and quantity of public transportation for this stupid car and plane traffic. And yes, flying became only cheap and profitable because governments pay big parts of the cost of this industry and subsidize these. E.g. Germany pays for the airports and while Germany has extremely high tax rates for fossil fuel, airlines have to pay almost no taxes on fuel. They did and still do similar things.

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u/PopMusicology 4d ago

Seattle still uses this for busses today.

1

u/Hopeful-Battle7329 4d ago edited 4d ago

Probably because the busses are maintained by the city or by a company on behalf of the city? I mean it makes a lot of sense because in the long run you save money. There's no more efficient way to power a vehicle. Especially on motorways, fuel economy for busses are expensive and public busses are mostly designed for being as efficient as possible in cities, not on motorways.

My city also pays the extra amount of equipment for our garbage trucks to be compatible with our tram lines. Whenever possible, they swap to the tracks and drive full electric powered by the existing power line for trams. For this reason, they have 4 height adjustable rail wheels in addition to the normal road wheels. I was completely confused when I saw it the first time because it was night and so, I only saw a garbage truck hovering over the street until it was close enough that I could see the rail wheels under the truck. Thought my eyes playing a game with me: a ghost truck? Kinda impossible.

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u/Jogaila2 4d ago

The tech never vanished. It's just not popular here in NA where we do not have the population density to make it efficient.

And this is why fossil fuels will not go away anytime soon. It is the most efficient energy source. Read up on energy density. Then you will understand

0

u/[deleted] 4d ago edited 4d ago

Where did i say it was going away tomorrow or even 10yrs from now? I just said that fossil fuels are literally a dinosaur and electricity is the asteroid that's gonna be the death of it..

-1

u/Jogaila2 4d ago

Well... no. Just no.

-1

u/Nerezza_Floof_Seeker 4d ago

Theyre never going away for planes tbh. No way to achieve the power density needed except from burning hydrocarbons.