ENRX, a Norwegian company founded earlier this year, is planning to build a one-mile section of a four-lane highway in Florida that will inductively charge electric vehicles with 200 kW while they drive. The company has partnered with the Central Florida Expressway Authority and the Aspire Engineering Research Center for this initiative.
The process works by fitting electric vehicle batteries with a special receiver pad, which charges the batteries as they drive over coils embedded in the road. The energy is then transferred from the coils to the receiver pad mounted on the vehicle floor. The Next Generation Electric Roadway system offers several advantages, including different output power levels for different vehicle and battery types, and a user-defined distance between the ground and the vehicle. The infrastructure side is maintenance-free after installation.
ENRX CEO Bjørn Eldar Petersen says that “when you can charge while driving, range anxiety and frequent charging stops will be a thing of the past.” He also explains that dynamic charging can reduce the need for large battery capacities, allowing cars to be equipped with lighter and more affordable battery packs.
While ENRX is not the only company working on “smart roads,” its claims are remarkable. The company has unparalleled expertise in induction technology, which allows it to deliver charging at 200 kW even at high speeds. No one else has the technology to offer anything similar.
Glenn Pressimone, Chief of Infrastructure at the CFX authority, said that “as a roadway agency, it is exciting to work with ENRX and ASPIRE to pilot this emerging technology that has the potential to make a significant impact on the future of roadway infrastructure.
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Although details on how the system works exactly or how it differs from other systems for dynamic inductive charging are not mentioned in the press release, the development is promising. In Gotland, Sweden, technology company ElectReon claims a fully electric 40-ton truck and trailer have reached speeds up to 80 kph and received an average power of 70 kW from the electrified roadway. With the development of ENRX’s Next Generation Electric Roadway system, range anxiety may soon become a thing of the past.
