For as long as electric vehicles have been mainstream, companies all over the world have been trying to engineer passive, convenient charging solutions. Amongst the most discussed solutions have been electrified roads.
The first real-world electrified piece of road will soon become a reality in Sweden.
The E20, a stretch of motorway that connects Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö, will become the first permanent electrified world in the world, opening to the public in 2025.
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ElectReon AB is one of Sweden’s main players in the e-road space.
It shouldn’t be a surprise to see this technology gain momentum in Sweden.
The home nation of Volvo is amongst the most committed nations in Europe when it comes to electric vehicle transition, having announced it would ban the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles locally by 2030 some four years ago.
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The new road will work a little like a giant wireless phone charger, but for selected electric vehicles. Cars and trucks can gain energy from the road just by driving on it; a process that is endlessly more convenient than stopping for an electric top up – particularly with traditional charging infrastructure still struggling to match demand.
The actual mechanicals behind the Swedish e-road are still up in the air.
Matthew Hansen/Stuff
Volvo is amongst the most committed brands on the planet when it comes to electric transition.
It is understood that Sweden is considering one of two construction solutions; a catenary system that uses overhead wires aimed more at trucks and buses, or an inductive system that makes use of hardware buried in the road’s foundations.
Once Sweden decides on a method of choice, it plans to expand its scope to include around 3,000km of road across the country.
Sweden is in as good a position as any to be able to judge which of the two solutions is the right one, given that both have been trialled already in smaller regional projects.
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A 2km catenary road was opened six years ago in Gävle, aimed squarely at heavy vehicle charging. In 2019, a 1.6km portion of road in Gotland was fitted with inductive coils, with successful wireless charging tests taking place across 2020 and early 2021.
It’s reported that electric trucks using the Gotland road were able to be charged at an average of 70kW, at speeds of up to 60kph.
Alongside the convenience of being able to charge on the run, another benefit of e-roads is that multiple cars will be able to use their service at the same time, without the need for lengthy queuing as is currently seen at some popular electric vehicle charging stops.
On the flipside, e-roads – particularly inductive systems – have also been criticised by some for their relative lack of efficiency. Much like a wireless phone charger uses more power to charge a phone than a wired unit, wireless car charging needs more resources to charge a vehicle than a standard plug set-up.
