Stellantis is working on roads that charge your car

Monday, 20 June 2022

This electric Fiat 500 is charging as it drives, thanks to a strip of coils installed in the road.

Stellantis has plans for tackling range anxiety, which involves high-tech roads that charge electric vehicles as they drive.

The automotive giant is working with Israeli firm Electreon on the tech, which uses coils placed under the road, called Dynamic Wireless Power Transfer (DWPT) technology.

EV drivers would not need to stop to recharge nearly as often, especially when you consider DWPT working with future battery technologies that can recharge faster.

Obviously, there are some shortcomings with the idea, like the fact that the road will need to be rebuilt to incorporate the coils, which is expensive and time-consuming, not to mention annoying for existing road users. But perhaps it could be considered for roads due for an upgrade or repave.

**READ MORE:

* Volvo to trial wireless car chargers

* Boutique New Plymouth hotel ready to charge luxury car owners

Volvo’s in-road charging system relies on pads installed in parking bays.

* Under-the-road electric vehicle charging being tested

The system can incorporate smart payment services as well, helping negate the outright cost of the road, similar to how toll roads work.

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen recharging roads either. Back in 2017, the Israel government confirmed it was testing roads that could wirelessly charge cars as they drove along.

It is collaborating with Israeli start-up ElectRoad to install a public bus route in Tel Aviv, using an under-the-pavement wireless technology that eliminates the need for plug-in recharging stations.

Volvo is also trialling in-road chargers, partnering with taxi company Cabonline for a three-year trial in Gothenburg, Sweden. Cabonline will use a small fleet of electric Volvo XC40 Recharge models to determine if a large-scale deployment of the wireless chargers is feasible.

At the moment, Volvo’s interpretation limits the charging roads to parking bays dotted around Gotheburg’s ‘green zone’. Drivers will be able to easily align the car over the pads thanks to the 360-degree camera system. There will be built-in safety systems to prevent injury as well.

At 40kW, they are slower than a fast-charging cable but far more convenient, in that all you really need to do to charge your car is drive over a pad. Much faster than a standard home charger too, which outputs at about 11kW. For what it’s worth, Stellantis didn’t say how powerful its in-road chargers are.