Indiana Will Test Pavement That Wirelessly Charges Electric Vehicles
Lisa Steuer McArdle
· 3 min read
Drivers in
Indiana
may get to see an exciting innovation on the road soon. The state is looking to make charging electric vehicles
more convenient, which may help encourage people to make the switch to electric.
The technology and electric vehicles
One reason some people are hesitant to switch to electric vehicles is the lack of charging stations. With a car that runs on gas, a driver knows that there will always be a
gas station
somewhere nearby. Although electric vehicle chargers have expanded significantly, an alternate charging method could ease the minds of drivers and make charging easier.Wireless charging with electric vehicles involves magnetized cement with coils running through it. Another coil is attached to the electric vehicle.
What makes this technology particularly impressive is that it would allow electric vehicles to charge while driving. The technology could also be implemented in parking spots.
Indiana's charging pavement tests for electric vehicles
The plan to implement wireless charging is part of a partnership between the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT), Purdue University and Magment. Magment, whose name is a combination of magnetic and cement, is a German company that is responsible for creating the charging pavement.
Purdue will be responsible for conducting tests on the pavement’s effectiveness. They will begin by setting up a quarter-mile road of Magment pavement for testing. After this, INDOT hopes to expand the charging road on highways.
If this is successful, it could greatly benefit Indiana's electric vehicle infrastructure. Right now, Indiana has only 207 locations to charge an electric vehicle.
Other countries have started using this technology
This may be the first use of wireless charging in the United States, but other countries have implemented similar technologies before.
Back in 2013, a city in South Korea installed a road that could wirelessly charge vehicles. This was mostly used for electric buses in the city, but it proved that this technology could be functional.
In Europe, Norway has started to implement roads that can wirelessly charge electric vehicles. Sweden has also begun to use the technology. The wireless charging in Sweden comes from a company called ElectrEon, and it uses copper coils.
Drivers in Indiana may be the first in the United States to get to experience this potentially revolutionary technology in electric vehicles. This could also be a major step forward in increasing the number of electric vehicles on the road in Indiana. Charging an electric vehicle is already cheaper than paying for gas, and it could be even cheaper if charging was as simple as driving on the highway.
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