Imagine a world where electric vehicles never need to stop to charge their batteries. Sounds mind-boggling, right?
1) What are Electrical Roads?
➡ Roads that charge the electric cars as they are in motion.
➡ No need to stop for charging the battery.
2) How is that possible?
➡ Overhead wires - Just how traditional electrical trains and trams draw power from overhead wires.
➡ Wireless Charging Coil - Coils embedded in the road transfers electricity wirelessly to a receiving coil in the car.
➡ Metal Rails - There are metal rails in road and when these rails come in contact with car, there is flow of electric energy.
3) Advantages of Electric Roads
➡ Reduced greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption
➡ Convenient and seamless charging
➡ Uninterrupted operation of electric fleets
➡ Reduced battery size thereby reducing battery cost
4) Electric Road System around the World
➡ Electrical Highway concept was first introduced in Electric Vehicle Symposium in Los Angeles in 2012 by Siemens.
➡ World’s longest electric highway is in Berlin, stretched over 109 km.
➡ In the United States, Detroit has country’s first stretch of road that can wirelessly charge EVs, whether they are parked or moving.
➡ The eRoadArlanda project in Sweden uses conductive rails embedded in the road to charge electric vehicles while they drive.
5) Future of Electrical Roads in India
➡ Government is planning to build an e-highway on the 1,300-km Delhi-Mumbai Expressway.
➡ It will be the World's Largest Electrical Highway, if materialised.
6) Challenges
➡ Cost of building and maintaining Electric Roads can be very expensive.
➡ Developing a reliable energy transfer system that can operate in all weather scenarios.
➡ Compatibility between various ERS technologies and vehicle manufacturers.
➡ Safety concerns
Sweden plans to bolster its electric road infrastructure by an additional 3,000 kilometres by 2045. Different countries around the world are venturing into this realm of Electric Roads.