Sweden is reportedly developing the first-ever electrified motorway in the world to support the growing number of electric vehicles on its roads.
About the project
Daily Mail asserted that Sweden would construct the e-motorway along 13 miles of European route E20. This route connects Hallsberg and Örebro between the country’s three major cities, Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö.
Notably, it is critical to Sweden’s strategy to adhere to the newly passed EU law that mandates all new car sales be green from 2035.
European countries are now hustling to have the necessary infrastructures ready to support the adoption of fossil fuel-free mobility.
According to experts, dynamic charging enables electric vehicles to cover greater distances with smaller batteries and to skip the need for recharging stops.
“We think the electrification solution is the way forward for decarbonising the transport sector and we are working with a number of solutions.”
Jan Pettersson, Director of Strategic Development at Trafikverket, the Swedish transport administration via Euronews Next
Through a number of pilot projects, including the construction of the world’s first temporary electric road, the Scandinavian country has led the way in electrifying roads.
What is the process?
The e-motorway project is now at the procurement stage, with plans to start construction by 2025.
Sweden has not yet decided on the charging process for E20. However, there are three charging types to consider:
- Catenary system: it employs overhead wires to supply electricity to a particular sort of bus or tram so it can only be utilized for heavy-duty vehicles.
- Inductive system: The electric vehicle’s coil receives power from the inductive charging system using specialized equipment installed beneath the road. After that, the coil in the car uses that energy to power the battery.
- Conductive system: It does not require a plug-in charger since they feature a pad or plate on the road. The pad wirelessly charges the EVs while driving on top of it.
In either of the three options, Sweden’s concept of e-motorways is indeed genius. Keeping big vehicles charged is a “special challenge” for electric vehicle owners worldwide, according to Pettersson.
“If you are going to have only static charging full battery solution for heavy-duty vehicles, you will get vehicles with a huge amount of batteries that the vehicles need to carry.”
Jan Pettersson, Director of Strategic Development at Trafikverket, the Swedish transport administration via Euronews Next
Sweden has teamed up with Germany and France to exchange knowledge through authority and research agreements on electric roads. The move is part of Sweden’s strategy to have an additional 3,000 km of electrified roads by 2045.
