Fraunhofer IVI starts testing truck undercarriage charging systems in Dresden

The Fraunhofer IVI wants to improve the efficiency and safety of charging electric vehicles in urban logistics operations. To this end, the institute is now testing a new charging technology together with Stadtreinigung Dresden (SRD), in which the entire charging process can be started and ended without cables and at the touch of a button. The core of the approach is an automated contact system that connects the underside of the lorry to a charging pad on the ground. Importantly, there is a physical connection between the charging pad and the vehicle’s receiver, so this is not an inductive charging technology. “An electromagnet ensures reliable contact and the system fulfils all the necessary safety standards,” reads an accompanying press release. And: as a conductive system, the solution allows “high charging capacities that are required for the economical operation of heavy commercial vehicles in the logistics sector.”

A brief review: The Fraunhofer IVI developed the automated charging system as part of the MEGA-LADEN research project, which was funded by the federal government from 2020 to 2024 and has since been completed and subsequently patented. In the meantime, the developers have integrated the solution into a 15-tonne test truck, which is now being made available to the SRD for testing in order to gather empirical values.

The Fraunhofer IVI believes that the advantage of the underfloor charging system is that it significantly reduces the effort for drivers and increases safety during charging. ‘In addition, the implementation of this technology will make the city cleaning service cleaner and may enable it to identify a practical and space-saving charging solution for its future vehicle fleet,’ it continues. SRD is currently trialling a fully electric waste collection vehicle in parallel.

Incidentally, the initiators describe the focus on autonomous driving as a visionary feature of the new charging technology: “In a future in which vehicles operate autonomously, it will be crucial that the charging process takes place without human intervention. The system developed could enable vehicles to initiate and carry out the charging process independently. This concept is also conceivable for automated depots, where vehicles dock at charging stations independently and take over the charging process.”

The data collected during the test should not only help to optimise the charging system, but also provide valuable insights into the user-friendliness and availability of the technology. What’s more, the two practice partners would like to build a small series of vehicles together with a vehicle manufacturer in order to electrify the vehicle fleet in the long term and further expand the benefits of electromobility in Dresden.

ivi.fraunhofer.de (in German)