Though there are many nations which lack the level of energy resources needed to meet long-term demand of electricty. However, plugging your electric car into a charging station could become a thing of the past as researchers are developing electric roads that can charge your car while waiting at a traffic light or even on the move. Wouldn’t it be great if you never had to stop and refuel your car?
In a wonderously forward-thinking movement, Highways England has started testing of a wireless power-transfer technology. If successful, electric cars would be recharged as they drive over roads that have special electromagnetic fields buried underneath the ground. The hope is for these advancements to be eventually installed into highways, allowing electric cars to be charged by electromagnetic fields buried below.
EV Roadways solve Charging Issue
One of the obstacles to the popularity of electric vehicles is so-called range anxiety – the worry about how far you can travel before your battery runs out. Wireless charging could change all that. “Electrified” roadways, which have wireless charging infrastructure under the asphalt, could keep EVs operating around the clock, with unlimited range — a big deal for transit buses, delivery vans, long-haul trucks and even future robo-taxis.
Electric Highways Popularity
The British government has invested a substantial 500 million into maintaining a position at the forefront of this technology. Highway England has announced plans to test a wireless power-transfer technology that they eventually hope to build throughout the country. If successful, electric cars would be recharged as they drive over roads that have special electromagnetic fields buried underneath the ground.
This isn’t the first time that this technology is being used. Other countries are also beginning to examine like-minded ideas. In 2013, the South Korean town of Gumi switched on a 7.5 mile route that allows buses to be charged in a similar, eco-friendly way, but there’s still plenty of testing left to be done before these roads are seen everywhere. Sweden also unveiled the eRoadArlanda a two kilometer electrified road – stretched of pavement – uses a pair of electric rails to transfer energy from the road to an EV above it via a mechanical arm. Wireless EV charging is expected to grow to $827 million worldwide by 2027.
Eco-friendly Technology
EV Roadways are part of a series of projects looking at improving the infrastructure for electric vehicles to encourage people to invest in electric transport and reduce emissions. As in-road charging could also help pave the way for more widespread EV adoption by relieving consumers of the need to stop and plug in their cars. Going to wireless charging simply let you forget all the problems with range.
By
Editorial, Infocus
