A groundbreaking project to create an electrified roadway designed to charge electric trucks while they drive is set to be tested in Indiana. The “Dynamic Wireless Power Transfer” (DWPT) initiative was launched in 2019 by Purdue University and the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT). The technology employed in the DWPT project enables the pavement to supply energy to electric vehicles in a manner similar to how recent smartphones use magnetic fields to wirelessly charge when placed on a charging pad.
Teams have installed electric coils beneath the pavement of US Route 231/US 52 in West Lafayette, Indiana, and are currently working on repaving the excavated sections of the highway.
According to Blake Dollier of INDOT, the current work involves covering and leveling the pavement to make it drivable in the near future. The project aims to power fully loaded commercial vehicles traveling at 105 km/h (65 mph) on the highway by using a magnetic field to transfer energy from the coils to a receiver located on the truck.
Steve Pakarek, a professor of electrical engineering at Purdue University, explains that for a fully loaded semi-trailer truck, an 80,000-pound vehicle traveling at 105 km/h, 200 kilowatts of power need to be delivered, equivalent to the continuous power supply for 100 homes.
Pakarek adds that placing these coils in the pavement would allow electric vehicles to reduce the size of their batteries, thus eliminating range anxiety. The idea is to supply power to the propulsion system and all associated vehicle auxiliaries, making the battery redundant while on the road. A battery would still be necessary for entering and exiting the road, but while the vehicle is on the road, the battery would not be used. According to Pakarek, what was science fiction 20 years ago is now a reality.
The road will be reopened to traffic in the coming months. Then, in the spring of 2025, teams will begin testing the technology with electric semi-trailer trucks.
