The fifth-largest automaker in the world has built and tested a charge-as-you-drive system. It is a loop of road in Italy with wireless EV charging coils embedded under the surface, so electric cars can charge as they drive and have an unlimited range.
Stellantis is the parent company of Fiat, Chrysler, Dodge, Chrysler, Jeep, Opel, Peugeot, Ram, Maserati, and many others. It is a founding member of the Arena Del Futuro project in Chiari, a 1,050-meter (0.65-mile) loop of road near the Chiari exit of the A35 Motorway, about 30 minutes north of Milan. This “Arena of the Future” was built to test a number of forward-looking transportation technologies, such as advanced 5G connectivity and IoT ideas, V2X communications, and road surface improvements.
But its main goal was to test and prove the capabilities of wireless on-road charging systems like Stellantis’s Dynamic Wireless Power Transfer (DWTP) technology. To install the DWTP, small grooves need to be cut into the road surface so that a series of flat inductive charging coils can be laid down and connected to a power source. The asphalt is then put back on top.
When the coils are turned on, they send power to vehicles passing over them if they have a receiver. At this point, it seems interesting that the energy goes straight to the electric motor of the car. So, instead of charging the battery, the DWTP system just supplies energy so that EVs can drive at highway speeds without using any battery.
Stellantis has finished the first round of tests and says that the power transfer efficiency is “about the same as fast-charging stations.” The company says that the magnetic fields don’t affect the driver or passengers and are safe for people to walk through. Running on DC means that the DWTP can use cables that are thin and small, and it can also be connected directly to renewable energy sources without having to convert back and forth from AC.
So, it’s possible and it works. But no one knows if or when the DWTP system will be put into use on public roads. Getting a project like this started on a large scale presents a number of chicken-and-egg problems, and it may end up costing more than it can bring in. These things will only make sense if they are put in place on very long stretches of high-traffic highway, if drivers can be accurately billed for their use, and if enough people buy compatible cars to make them worthwhile.
So, even though the tests went well, it looks like we still have to take a few expensive leaps of faith before in-road charging becomes the norm. Stellantis says that the technology “attracts interest for commercial development globally” because it can be built into static EV charging stations, parking lots, airports, and other places, but nothing concrete has been announced yet.
Summary
Could this be the future of our highways? If we put a lot of effort into improving and simplifying our daily routines, we may be on our way. I believe that in the near future, we will be able to charge all of our devices wirelessly, even while they are in motion.
Then we’ll move on to the next few questions, which will be about how reliable they are. How long does it take for an EV to charge? Does being stuck in traffic mean that my EV will be fully charged? Does it still need wireless charging if it can work on its own?
