Charge Your Car As You Go - Inching Closer To Reality

Highways England, the British government-owned company that looks after and improves England's roadways are all set to test their latest project – electrically charging roads. Yes, you heard that right, a special lane on the road would be equipped with electric cables capable of generating electromagnetic fields, which when in close proximity to a vehicle, an electric one, equipped with wireless charging technology, would be able to charge the vehicle as it runs. The idea is quite an ingenious one and it may turn out to be the next step to providing a greener future.





The testing would not be done on normal public roads just yet, but the 18 month trial period comes after a feasibility study done by the company. For the test, the vehicles used would be entirely electrically operated, it would also be equipped with wireless charging equipment, just like the ones seen on smaller mobile phones, and the roads would be designed to generate shape-specific electromagnetic fields that allow for the creation of an electric current inside the coils of the vehicle, which would then be transferred to the batteries.



Bear in mind that South Korea already has a 12km stretch of road exactly like the one proposed in England, where it charges electric buses as they are driven on it, using a process called Shaped Magnetic Field in Resonance (SMFIR). These trials are aimed at further studying and improving the ambitious idea to eventually tune itself to the future of driving. With vehicle technologies already at its peak, say, the Tesla models for example, there is an increased potential for a large alternative-fuel car market. Sure, it might cost considerably higher for now, but give time to the researchers behind the scenes, they might be able to pull it off and add to the prospects.

*Picture Credit: Highways England