Sweden builds first ever electrified road for charging vehicles as they drive
Sweden builds first ever electrified road for charging
vehicles as they drive
'One of the most important issues of our time is the
question of how to make fossil-free road transportation a reality'
By Josh Gabbatiss Science Correspondent April 14, 2018
The world’s first road that allows electric vehicles to
recharge as they drive has been installed in Sweden.
Around 1.2 miles of electric rail has been built into a
public road just outside Stockholm, and plans are in place to expand the project
throughout other parts of the country and the world.
The electrified road works by transferring energy from
the rail through a moveable arm on the bottom of an electric car or truck.
As the vehicle moves over the rail, the arm detects its
location and moves into contact with it. When overtaking, the arm automatically
raises.
The rail is connected to the power grid and divided into
sections that are only powered when vehicles move over them.
Energy consumption of each vehicle passing over the rails
is calculated by the system, enabling electricity costs to be charged to each
user.
The electrified road is being trialled using electrified
trucks that have been developed as part of the project.
“One of the most important issues of our time is the
question of how to make fossil-free road transportation a reality,” said Hans
Säll, chairman of the eRoadArlanda consortium, which is responsible for the
project.
“We now have a solution that will make this possible,
which is amazing.”
“Sweden is at the cutting edge of this technology, which
we now hope to introduce in other areas of the country and the world.”
The advantage of electrifying roads is that existing
infrastructure can have its energy consumption and carbon emissions reduced
with minimal modification.
Weden is already a world leader in clean energy, and in
2015 Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven announced his country would move
towards becoming "one of the first fossil fuel-free welfare states in the
world”.
The project being run by eRoadArlanda is one of several
attempts by the Swedish Transport Administration, a government agency, to
create electrified roads.
It is part of a wider effort by the Swedish government to
make the country’s transport infrastructure completely fossil fuel-free by 2030.
As it stands, road traffic accounts for a third of Sweden’s carbon emissions.
“It is important to break new ground when it comes to
climate-smart road transport,” said Lena Erixon, director general of the
administration.
“That’s why the Swedish Transport Administration supports
innovative development projects that contribute to long-term, sustainable
solutions.”
Those behind the initiative estimate that only the major
routes – around 3 per cent of the total road network – would need to be
modified to considerably cut carbon emissions. Shorter journeys between these
major routes could be undertaken using vehicles’ stored battery power
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