This Road Will Charge Your Car While You Drive
It sounds like something from a sci-fi novel, but a road in Detroit will charge your EV while you drive on it.
Written by Alex Healey
Reviewed by Kathleen Flear
U.S. automakers are expected to sell 6.9 million
electric vehicles
by 2025. Shortly afterward, EVs will surpass ICE cars in total annual sales, and our charging capacity will need a radical overhaul in order to keep up with demand.In the Midwest, a bipartisan plan is already underway to create
a huge charging network
, but this is expected to put a lot of strain on the grid. So what about other charging solutions?Well, in a move that would have seemed far-fetched not long ago, a Detroit roadway is being turned into an EV charging pad. Once complete, any electric car that drives along the one-mile stretch can benefit from wireless charging, emitted from metal plates beneath the road’s surface.
Intrigued? Terrified? Read on to learn more!
How does a wireless EV charging road work?
This infrastructure project—the first of its kind in the U.S.—was recently announced by Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. She explained that the state will work cooperatively with a startup called Electreon.
CBS News
reports that Electreon’s technology uses metal coils embedded under the pavement, to send magnetic frequencies to cars that drive over it. Once fitted with a receiver, an EV can absorb these frequencies and have its battery charged. Gas-powered vehicles remain unaffected.The total cost of the project has not been revealed, but Michigan will contribute $1.9 million from the state's transportation department, while Electreon will cover the rest.
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Will there be more of these roads?
MORE: A British Startup Will Provide EV Charging on the Go
The mile-long stretch of Detroit roadway is part of ongoing testing by Electreon to see how well its technology holds up in the real world. The company has already begun testing in Germany, Italy, and Sweden, and has a $10 million contract to help power electric buses in Tel Aviv.
There’s no doubt that a wireless EV charging road sounds efficient, compared to the current system of plugging in your car, and waiting for the battery to charge. But before being rolled out en masse, lawmakers will need to be convinced of its safety and cost-effectiveness.
We won’t have to wait long to find out if Electreon’s EV charging tech works. The road is scheduled to open in Michigan’s “Mobility Innovation District" in 2023.
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