A new technology to charge electric vehicles is coming to North America.
Electric vehicles driving in Detroit could increase their charge by using an in-road charging system by 2023. The contract to build it was awarded to ElectReon, an Israel-based company that develops wireless charging infrastructure. The roadway would charge electric vehicles while they are in motion or stationary. This technology has been tested and used in Sweden and Israel and works by installing copper coils in the highway.
The ElectReon system will require vehicles with batteries, but the batteries can be far smaller and lighter because the vehicles will constantly recharge and therefore will need minimal storage capacity. Executives say roads can be easily retrofitted, and nearly two-thirds of a mile of road can be outfitted during a night construction shift. An asphalt scraper digs a shallow trench in the road, while a second vehicle installs the charging strips and covers them with fresh asphalt. Power is delivered to the road from the electricity grid by power inverters installed on the sides of the road. It is much like how an induction stove works.
“Most wireless vehicle charging technologies rely on a process known as inductive charging, where electricity pumped into a wire coil creates a magnetic field that can induce an electric current in any other nearby wire coil. The charging coils are installed at regular intervals under the road, and cars are fitted with a receiver coil that picks up the charge.” (singularityhub.com)
This first test of electric road will be located at Michigan Central Station, Ford Motor Co.’s mobility innovation district now under development west of Detroit’s Corktown district. The plan is to have it ready for use by 2023.
Sources: Detroit News, DBusiness.com