Michigan is Now Home to the First Charging Road in America
It's the future and it starts in Detroit.
The first road in America that can wirelessly charge electric vehicles while moving is officially open.
See Also: It Costs How Much to Charge an Electric Vehicle on Belle Isle?
Where in Detroit is the Charging Road?
According to WDIV, the quarter-mile stretch of the road is located on 14th Street near Michigan Central in Corktown.
Electreon Vice President of Business Development Stefan Tongur:
This is where it matters to be, in Detroit, to be where the automotive manufacturers are, to be where innovation can actually scale. This is a big moment for Electreon.
How Do You Charge a Car While It's Driving on the Road?
Electreon, the company behind the innovative technology placed inductive-charging coils below the surface to charge electric vehicles while the car drives on the road.
So as this vehicle is driving, it has a secondary coil underneath which we call a receiver, and it will allow you to get a charge from the primary coil underneath the ground to the secondary coil, the receiver, into the battery.
The vehicle can be charged while it's moving or sitting still.
It seems like the vehicle needs to have a receiver to activate the charge. I'm assuming this is something that doesn't come standard with an electric car purchase. We understand this is a new technology and that it will take some time to perfect and become the standard.
The goal is to have these charging roads throughout the U.S. in the coming years.