Are Electric Roads the Future?
Nothing sounds more exciting than to go on long road trips without the need to refuel your vehicle. Lucky for us, that’s precisely what electric roads of the future claim to be. It means electric roads are energy efficient, eco-friendly while also offer a multitude of cost-saving benefits.
Engineers and designers of electric highways believe that the state-of-the-art technology used in electric roads charges your car faster to let you travel longer with fewer carbon footprints. Here we discuss what electric roads are:
What are Electric Roads and How do They Work?
Electric roads, otherwise known as eRoad, eHighway, or Electric Road System (ERS), refer to an innovative system that allows vehicles to transfer power from the road above which it travels on. Electric roads may be classified into the following three categories based on how the charging occurs:
In this type, power may be continuously transferred to the vehicle from overhead lines via a pantograph. Overhead conductive charging best works for buses and trucks that are enormous enough to touch these electric lines.
In addition, it’s perfect for vehicles traveling in a preset path so that they can enjoy being connected to these power lines.
Conductive Power Transfer from Road
This type of electric road resembles overhead conductive technology apart from the fact that it lacks a pantograph. Instead, power may be transferred to the vehicle via rails embedded within or on top of the road.
This technology typically comes with an onboard innovative mechanical arm connected with the power supply.
Inductive Power Transfer from Road
Last but not least, in inductive power transfer, power reaches the vehicles between coils embedded within the road and coils in the car. This kind of transfer takes place in the absence of wires.
The power from a grid is converted into AC power of high frequency to create a strong magnetic field that is easily picked up by the coils in your vehicle to induce voltage.
The Pros and Cons of Electric Roads
Electric roads offer several perks, including a cleaner, green alternative to fuel and combustion engines, especially if the energy comes from renewable sources like solar or wind. Thus, conductive charging, i.e., electric roads, are more efficient. In fact, the company Elway’s AB revealed an 85 to 95% efficiency for segmented conductive solutions for trucks and cars.
On the flip side, eHighways and eRoads are expensive as installing the charging infrastructure requires substantial investment into curating roads, installing electricity lines, and maintenance. In addition, if its infrastructure needs to be updating, it would likely cause extensive disruption to existing traffic flow.
To Sum it Up
Sweden opened their state-of-the-art electrified route between Stockholm Arlanda airport and a logistic site. This road is a visual representation of how eRoads actively charge cars and lorries as they travel on top of it.
The fact is that fossil fuel usage needs to be reduced, and electrified roads are the perfect way to do so.