Israel Tests Wireless Charging Roads for Electric Vehicles

 

Electric vehicles have long been a promising option for sustainable transportation. They come with practical headaches like expensive, bulky batteries that often need recharging, however. Israel is tackling those hurdles by investing in roads that power electric buses—as they ride down the street. The government is collaborating with Israeli start-up ElectRoad to install a public bus route in Tel Aviv, using an under-the-pavement wireless technology that eliminates the need for plug-in recharging stations.

Although still in its infancy, the technology could clear the three biggest hurdles—cost, weight and range—that have held back the widespread adoption of battery-powered vehicles for more than a century. First, though, ElectRoad will have to demonstrate that its “inductive charging” technology can be scaled up cheaply enough to be adopted on roadways worldwide. “It’s exciting because it’s charging without wires,” says Tim Cleary, director of BATTERY, an energy-storage research laboratory at The Pennsylvania State University, who is not involved in the project. “But unless it’s affordable and cost-effective it’s not going to take off.”

Note: I can't begin to imagine just how much power would be required for this to be attainable!

Prease to read more here:

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/israel-tests-wire...

--
Never argue with a pig. It makes you look foolish and it anoys the hell out of the pig!

Imagine..... (with a nod to John Lennon)

Imagine a major power outage, or some other problem that causes an outage on the road. What happens, when nobody pays attention in the car? Does it just stop? Do people still know how to drive? Maybe the cars just roll to a stop in a major collision. Maybe they just stop and for safety everybody is locked in their car until..... It wouldn't be safe to just get out and wander around. What happens when power is restored? How long does it take to charge the battery? Yikes, the article raises more questions that that makes the mind wobble.....

Will everything be solved when cars fly (i.e. the movie the 5th Element)?

With all the other problems in the world, this is important?

Hey, maybe it will use more power at the power generating station and cause more pollution than cars running on fuel. But the "greenies" will love it anyway.

--
I never get lost, but I do explore new territory every now and then.