A techno-economic comparison of battery swap and electric road systems for heavy road transport. A German case study

While electric vehicles are a promising solution to decarbonize passenger cars, the decarbonisation pathway for heavy road transport remains vague. Among other solutions, such as overhead lines or hydrogen, also battery swap systems might be interesting for use cases in the heavy road transport with only short idling periods that do not allow for a battery charge. Here, we techno-economically compare battery swap and electric road systems for a specific use case along the route Berlin-Peine, Germany. From a TCO-perspective both alternatives, battery swap stations and overhead catenary vehicles, seem to be an option to electrify heavy-duty road transport. While catenary vehicles can be cheaper in the long term, battery swap stations are built up comparatively easily with less financial risk.