The First Road That Charges Electric Cars by Itself. How Is This Possible?

The modern world is developing at a gigantic speed and sometimes it is difficult to keep track of everything. The most high-tech destinations are considered to be the USA, South Korea or the UAE. They usually set all the technological trends, and this also applies to cars.

Tourists that visit Dubai never pass up the opportunity to try the most luxurious vehicles by hiring. Car rental services in Dubai are incredibly popular nowadays, thanks to low costs and a large selection of cars of all models and classes, it has become a must-do activity for any tourist to the city. In Dubai, it is simple to google rent a car Dubai near me and hire a Lamborghini or a Tesla. Thus, by renting a car, you have complete flexibility to enjoy both the speed and the great perspective of the city.

Still nowadays, when the world is totally captured by electro technologies Italy can rightfully join this list. Electric cars are cool — they are well-known to everyone, they look beautiful, they are equipped with a huge display and even have an automatic driving system, but unfortunately, all of the electo vehicles have a huge disadvantage in the form of a small power reserve — without recharging, rarely any electric car can overcome more than 500 kilometers of travel. But charging stations are mostly available only in relatively large cities. Recently, the automaker Stellantis and the company ElectReon tried to solve this problem in a very unusual way — they paved a road in Italy that provides cars with electricity right while driving. How is this possible?

The road for electric cars

The electricity-powered road was laid in an area located about 50 kilometers from Milan. The length of the circular route is equal to one kilometer — all this distance is equipped with a wireless power supply system for electric vehicles. An array of inductors is installed right in the middle of the road, which is connected to a one-megawatt generator. The recess for the coils was made on a ready-made section of the road, that is, you can install the system anywhere. After covering the recess with a coil with a layer of asphalt, the road is no different from the usual one.

It is important to note that the road does not charge the car’s battery, but directly supplies electricity to an electric motor. Of course, the road can be made charging, but the authors of the project for unknown reasons considered it superfluous. When a car equipped with a receiving circuit drives along the road, an electric current is generated under the asphalt surface, which is transmitted to the electric motor. This is a very brief explanation of the technology, but the fact that it works and allows electric cars to drive without recharging almost forever is important to us.

Testing the “electric” road

As part of the testing, the Fiat 500 passenger car and the IVECO E-WAY bus were equipped with receiving coils. According to representatives of the company Stellantis, which is the manufacturer of the Fiat 500 electric car, the car was fully powered by electricity and drove along the road at a speed “typical of the highway.” And the company, which is the manufacturer of the IVECO bus, noted that it moved at a speed of 70 kilometers per hour and received energy with a capacity of 75 kilowatts.

What will be the roads of the future?

It would be very good if in the future roads began to perform additional functions, and not just lay under the wheels of cars. Engineers from various countries are working in this direction, but often fail. So, a few years ago, the French company Colas built a road covered with solar panels in its homeland. It was assumed that it would be able to generate energy that could be used to power lampposts in the city of Turuvre-au-Perche. However, everything did not go according to plan — the construction site of the road was chosen very stupidly, and because of dirt and breakdowns, the road became useless.

Still, it seems that this particular technology is really working. But whether it will be used en masse is a big question. The authors of the project did not even disclose the approximate cost of installing a wireless power supply system, and in fact, it can be very high. In addition, for the technology to work, electric vehicles will need to be equipped with receiving coils — this must either be negotiated with manufacturers, or involve owners in self-installation.

It is reported that the test use of this road will last until 2022 — a larger number of such roads will be built only if the system proves its effectiveness. So it seems that we should know the results quite soon.