Electrified Road Tested in Sweden

A consortium backed by Sweden’s Transport Administration has begun testing an electrified road system on a 2-km section of a public highway that can recharge electric vehicles as they drive over it.

The project, called eRoadArlanda, uses conductive technology similar to overhead cables that charge electric buses and trolleys. In this case, a slotted electric rail is embedded in the road. When a retrofitted vehicle senses it's on the electric road, an arm lowers onto the track to receive the charge.

The arm automatically moves to keep in alignment with the slot as the vehicle drifts from side to side. When the vehicle reaches the end of the electric rail—or moves too far from the center of the lane—the arm automatically raises into the chassis. Energy transfer is monitored to enable usage-based billing.

Sweden’s Elways AB, which developed the technology, says its system can work in snow and icy conditions. Initial testing will be done on retrofitted electric commercial trucks with passenger vehicles expected to be added later. The 2-km test area is on a high-traffic highway near Stockholm.