A number of European countries are continuing to expand their electric vehicle charging infrastructure to support the transition from fossil fuels to electric vehicles.
Stellantis, an alliance of Europe and the United States, consisting of 15 brands namely Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Citroën, Dodge, DS, Fiat, Fiat Professional, Jeep, Lancia, Maserati, Opel, Peugeot, Ram and Vauxhall, and Mopar auto parts are also not left behind. In addition to working on electric cars, they are preparing an electric vehicle charging system infrastructure that is embedded in the highway.
Similar to wireless smartphone charging, Stellantis plans to use inductive charging technology to power parked and moving electric vehicles.
“This is a cutting-edge solution to provide concrete answers to the range and charging issues that concern customers,” said Anne-Lise Richard, Head of Global E-Mobility Stellantis, according from Rideapart.
By installing Dynamic Wireless Power Transfer (DWPT) technology under the highway, the system will wirelessly charge electric vehicles with a special charging system developed by Stellantis.
The current project has entered phase 3, and the charging system is ready to be tested on a closed circuit near the Italian autostrada A35.
Named Arena del Futuro, which means Arena of the Future, the project consists of 1,050 m tracks powered by a 1 Megawatt DWPT system. In the pilot phase, the Fiat 500 Electric and Iveco E-Way Bus tested dynamic inductive charging capabilities on the road.
To provide maximum security, Arena del Futuro is also equipped with 5G connectivity and IoT (Internet of Things) technology to ensure optimal communication between vehicles and roads.
