New roads: Inductive charging possible
Charging without waiting in line! Many e-drivers dream of this. But the few charging points are all too often occupied. A Munich-based company now wants to charge electricity via the asphalt with the help of magnetic concrete.
Charging stations with a fixed charging cable are rather the exception in Europe, which means you always have to carry your own cable and a Type 2 plug in the boot. Moreover, if it rains or snows while charging, the dirty cable has to be stowed back in the car. The lack of charging infrastructure is still a main argument against e-cars.
That could now change. A year ago, researchers at the Technical University of Braunschweig were already working on the "eCharge" project to get electricity for electric vehicles across the asphalt. The goal was to make charging with a cable superfluous. To achieve this, induction modules were embedded in the road surface in which alternating current flows, generating a magnetic field that can be used to charge a car's battery. But the exact distance to the battery is important, just as it is with wireless charging of a phone. In 2018, BMW had already presented its Groundpad, a piece of charging surface on which parked cars can be charged.
The technology is not really new, but had not yet been perfected. The Munich-based company Magment is now going further and wants to charge vehicles while driving. The Munich company also wants to get electricity from the asphalt. Ceramic elements with metal oxide are embedded there. A magnet generates an induction field that can be used to charge a car's battery, just like a tram gets its electricity from the overhead line. The advantage is that not only cars could be charged in this way, but also buses, e-scooters or trucks and vans could be supplied with energy inductively via the magnetic concrete while driving.
The electricity consumption could be billed on the basis of GPS data that precisely measure the distance travelled. It would indeed be a mammoth task to equip European roads in this way. On a company's premises, however, the company's own machinery and transport vehicles could be easily charged if the ground were adapted. Of course, the technology could also be applied to public transport depots. Even if it would still be years before the normal e-driver can benefit from the technology in motorway asphalt, it is easier to implement on the premises of companies and depots, as space is limited and it is usually privately financed. The technology will catch on, if only for the reason that the installation of charging stations cannot keep up with increasing sales of e-cars. It is a good alternative and could support power supply in areas for specific user groups.