As the prices of electric vehicles fall and the options expand, we will start to see them on the road more and more. However, the worry of running out of charge still stands as a barrier to the widespread acceptance of electric vehicles.
A specially prepared road prototype in Italy aims to put drivers at ease in this regard. The road pavement, which works just like the technologies that wirelessly charge mobile phones, offers charging service to electric vehicles passing over it.
Electric vehicles were generally considered suitable for urban use due to their limited range. However, in new models, the range can go up to 480 – 640 kilometers on a single charge. However, even the fastest charging stations can fully charge a car in only half an hour, and this time can be even longer depending on the type of car. Compared to refueling, which takes only a few minutes, electric vehicles seem doomed to fail in this respect for now.
Stellantis, the owner of well-known brands such as Jeep, Chrysler, Dodge, Ram and Maserati, invests heavily in electric vehicles. Finally, he introduced a special road prototype he prepared in the Chiari region of Italy. Coils placed under the asphalt charge electric cars passing over them, using a technique called Dynamic Wireless Power Transfer (DWPT). Since the road uses DC power, it can get its electricity from solar panels or wind turbines.
Of course, electric vehicles need to install a special receiver in order to be able to charge while passing on this road. This receiver uses the electricity it generates from the signals it receives from the road directly to charge the vehicle’s batteries.