Wireless charging highway will charge ‘vehicle as it’s moving at 65 mph’
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WISH) — Work is underway on what creators are calling a first-of-its-kind “dynamic wireless transfer project” along U.S. 231 in Tippecanoe County.
Once completed, a quarter mile between Cumberland Avenue and Lindberg Road will charge electric vehicles as they drive. The project is a joint effort between Purdue University; Columbus, Indiana-based engine maker Cummins Inc.; and the Indiana Department of Transportation.
Purdue electrical engineering professor Steve Pekarek says coils placed under the road will act as transmitters. “We’ve designed this system so that a heavy-duty vehicle, when it gets onto the roadway, the roadway will provide the power to the vehicle as it’s moving at 65 mph.”
Older-model electric vehicles, or EVs, would need to be retrofitted with receivers to receive the charge. The road, though, would work on most electric vehicles.
“If you had your own charger in your home and it takes many hours for you to charge, this will reduce it down. If you utilize it to charge your vehicle, you would do it in a fraction of time, minutes not hours,” Pekarek said.
John Kresse, director of hybrid and electrified technology for Cummins, says the wireless charging highway will help ease EV drivers’ concerns about driving long distances and not being able to find chargers.
“Market adoption of commercial electric vehicles is lagging. It’s lagging because of two big reasons: one, the batteries are heavy, they’re expensive, and they don’t provide enough range,” Kresse said.
The wireless charging highway will be ready in the fall, and testing will take place next spring. Pekarek said the road’s creators will look at “how well does the pavement withstand this new material and also vehicles driving over top of it.”
The project price tag is $11 million. If all goes as planned, other wireless charging highways could be built around Indiana.