Roads That Charge Your Car: The Future of Wireless Electric Vehicle Charging

Elle
Jul 10
7 min read

Picture this: You're driving down the highway in an electric car, and instead of worrying about finding a charging station, your car is actually getting charged while you drive. The road itself is powering your vehicle, adding energy to your battery with every mile you travel. This isn't science fiction, it's the cutting-edge reality of wireless charging roads, and they're already being tested around the world.

What Are Wireless Charging Roads?

Wireless charging roads are specially designed highways and streets that can charge electric vehicles (EVs) while they're driving. The inductive e-roadway is fitted with a series of charging coils; as a compatible vehicle passes over each charging coil, it gets a jolt of power, which adds up to significant charging as the vehicle rolls over the series of coils.

Think of it like a giant version of the wireless charging pad you might use for your smartphone, except instead of placing your phone on a small pad, you're driving your car over a road that's essentially one massive charging surface.

The Science Behind the Magic: How It Actually Works

The technology behind wireless charging roads is based on a scientific principle called electromagnetic induction. Inductive charging has been around since the 1890s, when inventor Nikola Tesla first discovered he could wirelessly power lightbulbs. The same principle that powers your electric toothbrush or charges your phone wirelessly is now being scaled up to power entire vehicles.

The Technical Process

Here's how the system works step by step:

Underground Coils: Copper coils are installed below the pavement, signified by the dots. These coils are buried beneath the road surface and connected to the electrical grid.
Magnetic Field Creation: When electricity flows through these underground coils, they create a magnetic field above the road surface.
Vehicle Reception: When cars equipped with special receivers approach them, energy enters a magnetic field. The vehicle must have a special receiver coil installed on its underside.
Power Transfer: In-motion charging is achieved by burying the power transmitter track beneath the road surface and attaching the power receiver coil to the vehicle chassis. As the car drives over the coils, the magnetic field transfers energy from the road to the vehicle's battery.
Continuous Charging: The technology utilizes a series of specialized coils laid beneath the asphalt, with each individual coil connecting back to a series of power-managing hubs along the side of the road. This creates a continuous charging experience as the vehicle moves along the road.

A Brief History: From Tesla's Lab to Today's Highways

The journey from laboratory experiment to real-world application has been over a century in the making. While Nicola Tesla first discovered he could wirelessly power lightbulbs in the 1890s, it took until the 21st century for this technology to be applied to vehicles.

Early Pioneers

The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology launched in 2009 a shuttle service with wireless dynamic charging through inductive coils embedded in the road. This was one of the first real-world applications of the technology for transportation.

South Korea continued to lead the way, with OLEV launched a bus line in the city of Gumi in 2013. Another bus line was launched in Sejong in 2015, and two more bus lines following soon after.

Modern Developments

Today, multiple companies and countries are racing to perfect this technology. Germans industrial giant Siemens developed competing electric road technologies, also trying it out in Sweden as well as South Korea. Israeli startup ElectReon has become a major player in the field, with projects spanning multiple continents.

Where Can You Find Wireless Charging Roads Today?

North America

Detroit, Michigan (USA): A quarter-mile stretch of road became North America's first wireless charging road in 2023. This pioneering project allows specially equipped vehicles to charge while driving along 14th Street.

Europe

Sweden: One of the most advanced programs globally, ElectReon completed a 1.65-kilometer wireless charging road in Gotland, Sweden in 2021. The first of its kind in the world, the e-motorway may lead to an expansion of a further 3,000 km of electric roads in Sweden by 2035.

Norway: Norway has been a pioneer in EV adoption. In 2023, over 80% of new car sales were electric, making it a global leader in this field. The country has opened what some consider the world's first permanent wireless charging road for public use.

Middle East

Israel: ElectReon in March completed a 700-meter power track in Tel Aviv, Israel. The company continues to test and refine their technology in various locations across the country.

The Companies Leading the Charge

ElectReon

This Israeli startup has emerged as a global leader in wireless charging roads. ElectReon welcomed former Israeli president Reuven Rivlin as company president to "enhance the company's profile and expand its reach internationally.

Siemens

The German industrial giant has been developing competing technologies and has conducted trials in multiple countries.

Government Programs

The Swedish government has played a pioneering role in enabling innovative charging technology research, feasibility studies, and demonstration,s including Electric Road System (ERS) projects.

Real-World Applications and Benefits

The most promising early applications have been with public transportation, particularly buses. Since then, it has been used in an array of devices ranging from phones to toothbrushes, but only recently on the scale of a 13-ton bus.

Environmental Benefits

By enabling buses to run continuously throughout the day without needing to stop for charging, the wireless charging road technology has the potential to reduce carbon emissions.

Urban Planning Advantages

Wireless charging pads integrated into roads and parking spaces can support the charging needs of electric vehicles in busy urban areas, reducing the reliance on traditional charging stations.

Future Mobility

It also facilitates the development of autonomous cars, allowing users to make better use of their driving time.

The Challenges: Why Isn't This Everywhere Yet?

Technical Challenges

Commercialization efforts of the technology have not been successful because of high costs, and its main technical challenge is low efficiency. The energy transfer from road to vehicle is less efficient than plugging in directly.

Economic Barriers

The cost of retrofitting existing roads or building new ones with wireless charging technology is enormous. Every mile of road needs to be equipped with expensive coils, power management systems, and grid connections.

Vehicle Compatibility

Cars need special equipment to receive the wireless charge, which means widespread adoption requires both road infrastructure and vehicle modifications.

Efficiency Concerns

Currently, wireless charging loses more energy in the transfer process compared to wired charging, making it less environmentally friendly than it could be.

The Future: What's Next for Wireless Charging Roads?

Despite the challenges, the future looks promising for this technology. Like other non-traditional EV refueling strategies, such as battery swapping or peer-to-peer charging, it remains highly speculative. However, continued investment and technological improvements are making it more viable.

Potential Applications

Highway Networks: Long-distance travel could become seamless with continuous charging
Urban Transit: Bus networks could operate more efficiently with wireless charging
Autonomous Vehicles: Self-driving cars could manage their own charging automatically
Commercial Fleets: Delivery trucks and freight vehicles could benefit from continuous charging

Technological Improvements

Researchers are working on:

Improving energy transfer efficiency
Reducing costs through better manufacturing
Developing better alignment systems between road and vehicle
Creating more durable road-embedded systems

Environmental Impact and Sustainability

The environmental implications of wireless charging roads are complex. While they could reduce emissions by making electric vehicles more convenient and practical, the energy used to power these roads must come from clean sources to be truly sustainable.

The technology could be particularly beneficial for heavy vehicles like buses and trucks, which are harder to electrify with current battery technology due to their size and weight requirements.

The Road Ahead

Wireless charging roads represent one of the most fascinating intersections of transportation technology and renewable energy. While we're still in the early stages, the progress made in countries like Sweden, South Korea, and the United States shows that this technology is moving from science fiction to reality.

The challenges are significant—high costs, technical complexity, and efficiency concerns—but the potential benefits are enormous. Imagine a world where electric vehicles never need to stop for charging, where long-distance travel is seamless, and where the very infrastructure we drive on helps power our transportation system.

As we continue to grapple with climate change and the need for sustainable transportation, wireless charging roads offer a glimpse into a future where our daily commute could be powered by clean energy, delivered seamlessly through the roads beneath our wheels.

The technology may not be ready for widespread adoption yet, but the foundations are being laid today. In the coming decades, we may look back at traditional gas stations and even plug-in charging stations as relics of a bygone era, replaced by roads that power our vehicles as naturally as they carry them to their destinations.

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