CHARGING ON THE MOVE: UTOPIA OR POSSIBLE REALITY?

(Article published in Automotive Innovations magazine, June 2023)

By Daniel Rufiange

The electric shift has begun. Soon, most vehicles will be equipped with a battery. Therefore, concerns about recharging are becoming more and more prevalent. For the moment, they mostly apply to access for those living in urban areas and the development of the charging station network.

With the rapid pace at which technology is evolving, other issues will arise. One relates to the capacity of the electrical grid. A study carried out by Polytechnique and the Université de Montréal earlier this year concluded that if Quebec’s fleet of five million vehicles were fully electrified, Hydro-Québec would be unable to meet winter demand with its current production capacity.

Our intention is not to analyze this study, as many things will change between now and then, including Hydro-Québec’s electricity delivery capacity. However, if the problem arises here, it’s clear that it will arise elsewhere.

An enlightening study

This is where a study carried out by Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden becomes interesting. The researchers looked at the potential of roads able to recharge the vehicles driving on them, in order to identify what benefits could be derived. Firstly, if an EV recharges while driving, it is estimated that the size of its battery could be reduced by 70%. We’re talking about substantial savings for consumers and a significant drop in the resources needed for production. Better still, stress on the grid could be spread over the whole day.

Several countries (Sweden, Denmark and Germany) are testing the potential of using this type of electric road with different systems placed along the route. In Michigan, a Detroit road is planned as part of a pilot project run by the state and Israeli company Electreon, a pioneer in the world of wireless EV charging. The state’s transportation department is allocating $1.9 million for this five-year project. The possibility of extending this technology will later be evaluated.

Any limits?

Should the majority of roads one day have the capacity to recharge our vehicles, wouldn’t we be solving a large part of our concerns? The Swedish researchers offer some nuances. Their findings show that a combination of electric roads in 25% of the most heavily used areas would be optimal, in addition to home recharging. Such a scenario would decrease battery size by a third.

The problem is that this would be viable for people living near new infrastructure, not for those in remote areas. Reducing the size and range of their electric vehicles would penalize them. The idea of models with less range is not even conceivable here, even if some roads were to provide recharging.

Our crystal ball

It’s impossible to predict the future, but battery size will shrink over the years and range will increase; that’s the nature of evolution, much as we’ve seen with cell phones.

We can imagine that some road sections will supply recharging, but this won’t apply to all. We see it as an option.

We’ll talk about it in ten years’ time.