Electreon Wireless is a startup that’s based out of Tel Aviv, Israel and they’re collaborating with Ford and DTE to bring their wireless charging tech to Detroit next year.
They will be building the first-ever road in the US which will charge modified electric cars as they pass through.
The company claims they’ve already done the implementation of the infrastructure into roads in Israel, Sweden, and Italy.
First-Ever US Road to Charge Modified Electric Vehicles
The mile-long electrified road will be located near the Central Terminal in Detroit’s Michigan, an abandoned train station that is being converted by Ford into a mobility innovation district.
Michigan state will help out with $1.9 million and Electreon Wireless notes that the road will be functional by 2023. This road will charge EVs whether they’re at a stop or moving, through the process of inductive charging.
This method uses a magnetic frequency for the transfer of power from the metal coils buried under the road to the receiver that’s on the underside of an EV.
Although it will work normally for gas cars and EVs that don’t have the receiver, according to the estimates by Axios, the installation of the receiver costs around $3000 or $4000 per car.
Electreon stated that they’ll try to decrease the price and make it closer to $1500 or $1000.
What Are the of Benefits of the EV-Charging Road?
Wireless charging of the cars may help reduce range anxiety and ease the adoption of EVs.The charging infrastructure is a major obstacle to the adoption of EVs.
One in five EV owners has gone back to a gas car due to the charging being a real burden.
Moreover, other data from 2021 concluded that anxiety associated with the range of the battery of the EV is a limiting factor to the commercial viability of the cars.
According to the Governor of Michigan, Gretchen Whitmer, since they aim to become leaders in the future of electrification and mobility by increasing the production of EVs and reducing consumer costs, the wireless in-road system for charging is the next piece to the sustainability puzzle.
Electreon is one of the several companies which promote wireless EV charging. This Israeli company is one of the six that are racing to capitalize on a market estimated to be valued at $207.5 billion in the next decade.
The wireless charging of an EV isn’t a new concept though. Back in the 80s, California tested a wireless charging option with powered cars for the PATH program.
Moreover, recently, wireless charging for phones has also been promoted and developed further by companies like Samsung and Apple. However, the efforts for wireless charging didn’t expand due to the hardware being expensive and unhandy.
Cornwell University researchers have been working on making the wireless charging process for the highways in the US use electric instead of magnetic fields.
This switch may help reduce the costs for the process and enable more energy, according to the head of the team, Khurram Afridi.
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