As a key finding in this year’s EPI-scoring, air quality keeps deteriorating human health in such a manner that it is considered as “…the leading environmental threat to public health” (EPI, 2018). The exposure of pollution and its particles from e.g. heavy traffic is a contributing factor. In Sweden, the transporting sector constitutes 1/3 of the total CO2 emissions. In an attempt to curb its emissions and reach the goal of fossil-fuel-free roads, the Swedish Transport Administration and eRoadArlanda teamed up and developed the world’s first electrified, 2 km long, the public road outside the capital.

The electric truck or car runs on the rails, connected to a power grid, and as it moves transformation of energy is made from the rails to the vehicle. Practically this means that an arm locates where the vehicle moves and connects with it and thus the vehicle also gets charged at the same time.

In order to charge for the consumed electricity, a calculation is made for all vehicles that have been using the road. Those areas that are not connected with a car or truck are not powered. In the long run, the idea is to export the innovative solution to other parts of the country as well as overseas. A longer version of the article could be found on the Independent news site.