Electreon Wireless has just installed the first-ever wireless charging road for electric vehicles in Norway, Xinhua reports, citing the Israel-based hi-tech company’s report to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange on Sunday.
Norway trials first-ever wireless EV charging road
Electreon Wireless reportedly installed its wireless electric vehicle charging road in a 100-meter-long road segment in the city of Trondheim, a significant step towards a greener future.
The Israeli company aims to test the wireless charging road using four electric buses for about a year.
The pilot program will involve three electric buses from Chinese automaker Yutong and one from Chinese bus maker Higer.
Electreon Wireless seeks to determine whether wireless charging technology can sufficiently provide power for electric buses in Norway, eliminating the need for drivers to stop by charging stations.
In addition, it will examine the wireless charging technology’s ability to withstand extreme winter conditions in Trondheim to demonstrate its resilience and effectiveness in this northern area’s unique climate, according to Electreon.
How does it work?
Electreon Wireless installed special copper coils just beneath the road surface. The electric buses involved in the pilot program will also have coils underneath them.
The road-installed coils transmit magnetic frequencies to the ones installed in the electric vehicles’ body.
The technology charges the battery whenever the car drives or stops on the wireless charging road, owing to the embedded receiver plates under the vehicle.
Potential challenges
Despite the innovations of wireless charging technology, major challenges remain for the technology to achieve widespread uptake.
These challenges include slow charging speeds and the high cost of investments required to develop wireless charging roads.
That said, it remains challenging for wireless charging technology companies to expand the scope of such a project as of today. Wireless electric vehicle charging technology will highly likely remain a pilot project for some time before becoming a mainstream charging option for electric vehicle owners.
Electreon Wireless expects the project to cost up to 22.4 million Norwegian kroner ($2.12 million), funded by the Norwegian government.
