Motorists will be able to recharge their cars as they drive if a scheme being proposed by Highways England comes to fruition.
The government agency has announced plans to test wireless power-transfer tech that it hopes to build under the country’s motorways and major A roads. It has already completed a feasibility study and is now asking companies to tender bids to host off-road trials.
But one expert questioned whether such a scheme would be cost effective.
South Korean Tests
Charge-as-you-drive technologies have already been pioneered elsewhere.
In 2013, the South Korean town of Gumi switched on a 12km (7.5 miles) route that allows buses with compatible equipment to be charged as they drive over it.
It works by a process called Shaped Magnetic Field In Resonance. Electric cables buried under the road are used to generate electromagnetic fields, which are picked up by a coil inside the device and converted into electricity.
Last year, Milton Keynes also began use of a more limited scheme, which involves buses being wirelessly recharged via plates installed into road. In this case, however, the vehicles have to stop for several minutes at a time to receive the power boost. « What has been committed to is that by 2016 or 2017 we will hold off-road trials – in other words not on a public road, » Stuart Thompson, a spokesman for Highways England, told the BBC. « It’s still very early days. Where exactly the trials will be has yet to be determined. »
Highway England says full details will be publicised once a contractor has been appointed. It aims to run the experiments for about 18 months before deciding whether to commit itself to an on-road trial. « The potential to recharge low emission vehicles on the move offers exciting possibilities, » commented Transport Minister Andrew Jones. « As this study shows, we continue to explore options on how to improve journeys and make low-emission vehicles accessible to families and businesses. »
However, the director of Cardiff Business School’s Electric Vehicle Centre of Excellence remains sceptical. « It makes sense to try it out, and the technology does obviously work, » commented Dr Paul Nieuwenhuis. « But it sounds very ambitious to me. Cost will be the biggest issue and I’m not totally convinced it’s worth it.
« Battery technology is increasing – if you look at what Tesla has achieved in recent years, it keeps adding more [travel] range to battery technology roughly every six months. So, it’s not clear there’s even a need for this. »
Even if the plan ultimately comes to naught, Highways England is also committed to installing plug-in charging points every 20 miles (32.1km) on its motorway network over the « longer-term ».