...AND CHEAPER...:

It's a foregone conclusion that we need to phase out vehicles that emit climate change-causing greenhouse gases. Among passenger vehicles, electric vehicles are seen as the most viable option, though there's still room for hydrogen fuel cells. Among the trucking industry, that battle between big batteries and hydrogen is much more competitive, though a number of setbacks in both areas -- Tesla's highly anticipated Semi has been delayed again, and beleaguered hydrogen proponent Nikola is still trying to get back on its feet after fraud charges -- has left an opening for another option.

As The New York Times reports in a new feature, that third option is electric highways. In Germany, trucking companies are currently testing the technology, which is more concerned with transforming the infrastructure around trucks rather than the vehicles themselves. The end product is akin to street cars or trains, with wires hung above roadways charging these haulers as they drive through pantographs that extend from the top of the trucks. 

"At one level the idea makes perfect sense," writes the Times. "The system is energy efficient because it delivers power directly from the electrical grid to the motors. The technology saves weight and money because batteries tend to be heavy and expensive, and a truck using overhead wires needs only a big enough battery to get from the off-ramp to its final destination."

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