Electric vehicles can recharge on motorways
A motorway that can recharge electric vehicles as they drive on the road has announced early test results on the A10 path, about 40 kilometers southwest of Paris. Named Charge as You Drive, the project is a collaboration between VINCI Autoroutes, Electreon, VINCI Construction, Gustave Eiffel University, and Hutchinson. The way it works is that under the asphalt of the A10 motorway, engineers have placed induction coils along 1.5 kilometers of road. These are connected to an electrical power supply and controlled by sensors and software, so when an electric vehicle with a receiver coil drives over this section, energy moves from the road coil to the receiver coil using a magnetic field, recharging the automobile, especially the heavyweight ones like delivery trucks and vans.
The receiver then sends this energy to the vehicle’s battery while it moves, and the automobile doesn’t need to stop or plug in since its ride is being recharged automatically through the road with a process called dynamic wireless charging. The catch is that each electric vehicle needs to have a receiver installed before it gets recharged on this motorway. For the A10 test, four types of vehicles were equipped: a heavy truck, a utility van, a passenger car, and a bus. These prototypes are used to measure how well the system works in real driving conditions with other traffic.
all images courtesy of Electreon
Early tests results from trials on A10 motorway
Before the motorway installation, the materials and structure were tested for two years. The work started in September 2023 in VINCI Construction’s Road Research Center in Mérignac, where different materials were tested to check their strength and durability. The goal was to find materials that would not wear out quickly when heavy vehicles drive over them. Then, researchers from Gustave Eiffel University carried out large-scale tests at the LAMES laboratory in Bouguenais. They used machines called traffic simulators to copy the weight and stress of 25 years of truck traffic in only a few weeks. These tests showed that the coils and pavement stayed in an ideal condition.
The French authorities later on gave permission for the system to be installed on a live motorway, and now the initial tests have started. The coils were embedded in the A10 surface, and the test section was opened for normal traffic. Three laboratories from Gustave Eiffel University monitored the road during the first real-world trials, and their early results have shown that the system can deliver more than 300 kilowatts of peak power and over 200 kilowatts of average power in stable conditions. This means that electric vehicles, even large trucks, can be recharged with enough power while driving at motorway speeds. Dynamic charging is now being tested in several countries, including the United States, China, South Korea, Germany, Italy, Sweden, and Norway. The A10 project is the first time this technology is used on a motorway with normal traffic to see if it recharges electric vehicles while driving.
bus charging wirelessly in Balingen, Germany
Toyota RAV 4 being recharged while driving on the road
early results show that the system can deliver more than 300 kilowatts of peak power
in Gotland, Sweden, Electreon ERS powers bus and truck
under the asphalt of the road, engineers have placed induction coils to recharge the electric vehicles
project info:
name: Charge as You Drive
companies: VINCI Autoroutes, Electreon, VINCI Construction, Gustave Eiffel University, Hutchinson | @ vinci_autoroutes, @electreon_wireless, @universitegustaveeiffel
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