A trial in England is hoping to significantly boost the range of electric cars by introducing roads that can charge the vehicles as they drive along them.
Unless you happen to own a Tesla and live near a supercharging station, the current battery life of electric cars doesn’t go incredibly far. While electric cars may get 260 miles to a full charge, gas-guzzling cars can get 300 miles or more.
Highways England announced last week that it is embarking on an 18-month scheme to trial charging lanes after completing an early feasibility study. (The testing won’t be on public roads just yet, though.)
During the trials, vehicles will be fitted with wireless technology and special equipment will be installed beneath roads to replicate motorway conditions. Electric cables buried under the surface will generate electromagnetic fields, which will be picked up by a coil inside the device and converted into electricity.
This new scheme is a lot more ambitious and potentially game-changing.
The off-road trials of wireless power technology will help to create a more sustainable road network for England and open up new opportunities for businesses that transport goods across the country.”
This isn’t the first trial of its kind. In South Korea, a 7.5-mile (12 km) stretch of road charges up electric buses as they drive along, via a process called Shaped Magnetic Field in Resonance (SMFIR).
(Source: Mashable)
