The present study aims at discussing relevant aspects for a potential roll-out of Electric Road Systems (ERS) on transnational corridors, as well as generally for ERS introduction in Europe.

Feasibility criteria have thus been developed in order to assess the following topics for specific potential ERS corridor projects:

• Technical aspects: Which technical prerequisites exist for ERS corridors and to which extent can they expected to be met?
• Environmental aspects: Which effects can be expected on key environmental indicators?
• Economic aspects: Can an ERS corridor pose a business case? Could it contribute to the improvement of ERS economy in general?
• Political aspects: Would an ERS corridor implementation make sense from a political point of view?

The developed criteria may serve as a toolbox for scrutinizing future transnational ERS corridor projects. In order to illustrate their application, we used them to analyse a potential roll-out of an Electric Road System on a selected highway corridor (424 km) connecting Sweden and Germany, but mainly located on Danish territory. Based on traffic flows and patterns along the corridor route, it was found:

• A considerable part of the total truck mileage on the corridor is done by vehicles with a rather limited driving distance for pre- and post-haul, assuming the corridor is realized as a stand-alone project, and
• the CO₂ emissions (well-to-wheel) of truck traffic along the corridor route can be significantly reduced if electric trucks are powered by the national electricity mixes expected for the year 2030, and even more if it would be powered purely renewable.

Although a continuous ERS on the complete corridor route would not be economically feasible under current conditions, the analysis pinpoints sections along the route where the traffic volumes with a sufficient share of operation on a potential ERS are significantly higher. These sections are located in the metropolitan areas of Malmö, Copenhagen and Hamburg. For implementation, peculiarities of the local markets and regulation should be considered, as well as country-specific priorities on decarbonizing road freight transport. Additionally, the identified ERS potential for medium distances will depend on the technical and cost development of battery trucks.

Our analysis also sheds some light on the role of first transnational corridors within a European roll-out strategy for ERS. Such corridor projects could help to

• proof the principal strengths of ERS,
• trigger strategic coordination between the participating countries,
• foster national ERS roll-out due to synergy effects with the corridor and
• pave the way for integration of ERS into EU legislation (e.g. AFID, TEN-T planning)