In spring 2025, a unique experiment will take place on France's A10 freeway, with the testing of a section dedicated to dynamic induction charging. The idea is to enable electric vehicles to charge up their batteries while driving. To achieve this, 1.5 kilometers of road have been specially adapted.
Work is currently underway on a section of the A10 freeway, near Saint-Arnoult-en-Yvelines, to equip it with induction coils installed under the carriageway. The project, dubbed "Charge as you drive”, is being carried out by a consortium led by VINCI Autoroutes. Its aim is to test the dynamic recharging of electric vehicles by induction in real-life conditions.
This technology enables electric vehicles to recharge their batteries, without contact, while driving on this stretch of freeway. Copper coils emit an electromagnetic field which is picked up by receivers installed under the vehicles, and is converted into electricity.
The first test runs with prototype vehicles (a truck, a commercial vehicle, a car and a bus) are scheduled for the coming spring. These will help assess the system's effectiveness in real traffic conditions.
This innovation is primarily intended for electrically-powered HGVs, but will also apply to all other electric vehicles. The aim of the test is to facilitate the transition to low-carbon transport by offering an efficient on-the-go recharging solution.
By enabling continuous recharging, vehicles may, in the future, be fitted with smaller batteries, thus reducing their weight and the raw materials required for their manufacture. The system will also significantly extend the range of the vehicles concerned, delaying the need to stop and recharge.
For the moment, this is just a test, on a portion of road that is still very small and insufficient to really help charge up a vehicle. But if the test is technologically conclusive, VINCI Autoroutes could envisage deployment on a larger scale on other sections of its road network. However, this effort would come at a very high cost, since the industrial deployment of this technology would mean spending almost €5mil (RM23.06mil) per kilometre.
Other trials involving dynamic induction charging have already been conducted, but mainly on closed circuits. In Italy, for example, the "Arena del Futuro” project – in which the Stellantis group is experimenting with this technology in conjunction with several partners – has already been completed. A few years ago, the city of Karlsruhe in Germany carried out a test on a small 100-meter stretch of infrastructure using its fleet of electric buses.
Meanwhile, in Sweden, another test has been underway for several years, on the eRoadArlanda, a stretch of road just a few kilometers long on which vehicles can connect to electric rails placed in the middle of the traffic lanes, charging up effortlessly simply by driving. – AFP Relaxnews
