April and May 2018 saw the inauguration of two innovative pilot projects on the ‘electrification of roads’. Both could help support the transition to carbon neutral transport. While one project attempts to generate clean energy through a photovoltaic road surface, the other aims to provide electric power and recharge vehicles during their journey.

If Sweden wants to reach its climate targets for 2030, every third car must be removed from its major cities, according to the Swedish Transport Administration, Trafikverket. A move to other modes of transport is also needed because of the large amounts of urban space that cars occupy when driving or when parked.

An autonomous bus is now available for the public to use, in a 4 week trial carried out at the Chalmers University of Technology campus in Gothenburg. The bus is available to the public between the main entrance of the University and the University's Library. 

The project, which is led by RISE, is part of the Swedish Government's ‘Next Generation Travel and Transport' programme and is partly funded by Vinnovo. It is the second project of its kind in Sweden this year, with driverless buses introduced in Stockholm in January.

On the periphery of Stockholm, Sweden, the first ever public road with the ability to simultaneously charge electric vehicles has opened, spanning 2km from Arlanda airport to the Roserberg logistics centre. Electric trucks designed as part of the running project will be the first vehicles to utilise it. The expenditure to electrify the roads in this way is $1.23 million per km – this is approximately 50 times cheaper than an urban tram line development.

A study published in early 2018 by the Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute shows the impact of lower speed limits in urban areas on road fatalities and injuries. A maximum speed reduction from 50 to 40 kilometer per hour could help save as many as 5 lives per year and prevent 83 severe injuries and 12 very serious injuries on a yearly basis.

Local Swedish public transportation and technology providers have partnered with the telecommunications company Ericsson to conduct a six-month trial of two electric self-driving shuttle buses on Stockholm's public roads. The aim of the trial is to test how the autonomous vehicles perform under real-word conditions for a prolonged period alongside other road users (cars, cyclists) and pedestrians.