Quote: Stephen Goodlad @ 28th July 2021, 8:01 AMI see, in line with zero carbon and no petrol or diesel cars or lorries, they are trialling overhead electric lines to power lorries on the motorway. They will be connected via a pantograph like trams once were.
We are going backwards. The connecting apparatus even has the word 'panto' in it.
Just looked them up.
They sound brilliant, you old curmudgeon.
Quote: Stephen Goodlad @ 28th July 2021, 8:01 AMI see, in line with zero carbon and no petrol or diesel cars or lorries, they are trialling overhead electric lines to power lorries on the motorway. They will be connected via a pantograph like trams once were.
We are going backwards. The connecting apparatus even has the word 'panto' in it.
I doubt that it will happen, it's a pie-in-the-sky idea, it will be simpler and less expensive to convert the lorries etc to run from hydrogen as fuel. Though the cheapest way of separating hydrogen at present is from fossil fuel, this will change as more 'natural' methods of generating electricity are brought on-line.
The infra structure for bottling hydrogen is easier to create than covering the motorways with an electricity supply and bottling hydrogen is a more convenient way of using the somewhat erratic nature of carbon-free wind-power and tidal power. The lorries would still need battery power in any case to deal with off-motorway travel.
Lot of big companies putting money into it.
Never say never.
Much of that electricity is going to come from fossil fuels, anyway.
Quote: Stephen Goodlad @ 28th July 2021, 8:01 AMI see, in line with zero carbon and no petrol or diesel cars or lorries, they are trialling overhead electric lines to power lorries on the motorway. They will be connected via a pantograph like trams once were.
We are going backwards. The connecting apparatus even has the word 'panto' in it.
Presumably they won't be able to change lanes and what happens when they want to leave the motorway - or do they just have to keep on.
Quote: Chappers @ 28th July 2021, 5:21 PMwhat happens when they want to leave the motorway
The clippie will have to get the bamboo pole out 
Quote: DaButt @ 28th July 2021, 5:20 PMMuch of that electricity is going to come from fossil fuels, anyway.
We're getting there.
2020 was the fist year renewables overtook fossil fuels as a % of UK electricity production.
Wind power alone should be able to provide 50% by the end of the decade.
The fist year?
And Wind power? I remember reading that they were turned off a while ago because there was too much wind.
Sorry about that.
Yes, I think there was a time when it all got a bit too blustery.
Quote: billwill @ 28th July 2021, 2:04 PM...................... this will change as more 'natural' methods of generating electricity are brought on-line.
Oh of course, I didn't realise it was that simple.
Ah! How about sails? You could have lorries zipping along the motorways like wheeled galleons.
Quote: Hercules Grytpype Thynne @ 29th July 2021, 12:06 AMOh of course, I didn't realise it was that simple.
Ah! How about sails? You could have lorries zipping along the motorways like wheeled galleons.
They had cars with sails in the Mad Max films, and they were quite good.
Perhaps they could have huge electrical coils all down the motorways - or transformer primary windings as they would be called.
Each new car could have an electrical coil fitted (or secondry winding) and as the cars pass the coils, an EMF would be induced to charge the batteries.
No stopping to charge your car, it would charge as you travel.
I'm not just an ugly face...
Trust you to go all technical and confuse the issue.
OR - giant Scalextrix!
Baggsy the red mini-cooper.
Just as I'd expected, the UK decided to let vaccinated Americans travel there without quarantine - four days before we were supposed to fly, and after we'd canceled our trip. Oh well, France, Germany, Austria, and Czech Republic, here we come. Maybe.