The CRRC Datong road electrification project features vehicles powered by overhead cables. [Photo by Luo Yitong for China Daily]

With the world's first electrified railway built in Berlin, Germany, in 1879, traffic electrification has become a revolutionary achievement in changing the transportation industry.

Rail transportation is the major beneficiary of this revolution, with electrified railways now accounting for a majority of railroads worldwide. However, road electrification is still lacking as it's mostly limited to trolley buses and trams used for today's inner-city passenger transportation.

The city of Datong in Shanxi province is showing promise for the future of road electrification. A latest trial offers hope of ushering in a new era.

On March 14, a special road began trial operation in the city. Its launch ceremony was marked by a heavy-duty truck running on the road, with a pantograph linked to the electric cables above the road.

Developed by the CRRC Datong, a branch company of China National Railway Locomotive& Rolling Stock Industry Corporation, and other research entities in the country, the trial run was China's first demonstrative project for road electrification.

According to executives at CRRC Datong, the electrified road is designed to reduce emissions from cargo-transporting vehicles.

Liu Ruihong, an executive at CRRC Datong, said the project is "a bold attempt to revolutionize the traditional road transportation", guided by China's carbon-neutrality initiative.

"Our plan to develop the electrified road system is also based on research on the current market dynamics and on existing technologies," he said.

He added that the International Energy Agency has proposed road electrification as a major direction of development for future road transport systems. "It predicts that about 36 percent of heavy trucks will be driven by electricity via cable-connected pantographs."

The company estimated that the market value of road electrification in China can reach 520 billion yuan ($75.5 billion) within 30 years.

Liu Peng, vice-president of the research academy of CRRC Datong, said the successful launch of the road electrification project is based on the company's technological strength, building on its decades of experience in developing railway systems.

Over the past seven decades, the company has produced a total of 12,000 train locomotives, earning it a strong position in China's railway equipment manufacturing industry.

"We have developed a series of groundbreaking technologies for this project," Liu Peng said.

One such technology is the smart pantograph system tailored to road electrification.

"The pantograph has the same quality as high-speed train pantographs," he said. "And there are also new functions for the road."

The distinctive function of the pantograph is that it can offer electricity to both drive and charge the vehicles. "Charging takes place in the process of driving, which allows the vehicle to run a long distance off the road, without connecting to the cables," Liu Peng explained.

The executive added that the energy utilization efficiency of vehicles using road electrification solutions can reach about 80 percent, twice that of conventional diesel-fueled vehicles.

He noted that the system will first be used for regular routes like roads linking coal mines but will be eventually extended to other roads.

Leng Xue contributed to this story.