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Power Transportation

Florida EVs May Be Charged 'Inductively' By One Mile of Highway (electrive.com) 149

A Norwegian company named ENRX "wants to inductively charge electric vehicles with 200 kW while driving on a section of highway in Florida," according to the "electric mobility industry" news site electrive.com.

"A one-mile section of a four-lane highway near Orlando is to be electrified." ENRX has teamed up with the Central Florida Expressway Authority and the Aspire Engineering Research Center for an initiative to build a one-mile (1.6-kilometre) section on a four-lane highway near Orlando that will inductively charge the batteries of moving electric vehicles at 200 kW.

The principle is clear: the electric vehicle batteries are fitted with a special receiver pad and charged as they drive over the coils embedded in the road. In the process, the energy is transferred from these coils to the receiver pad mounted on the vehicle floor, which according to ENRX should provide "a safe, wireless power supply" even at motorway speeds. Advantages of the 'Next Generation Electric Roadway system' mentioned include interoperability, different output power levels for different vehicle and battery types, or user-defined distance between the ground and the vehicle. In addition, the system (on the infrastructure side) is supposed to be maintenance-free after installation...

"When you can charge while driving, range anxiety and frequent charging stops will be a thing of the past," says ENRX CEO Bjørn Eldar Petersen... "Dynamic charging can reduce the need for large battery capacities, allowing cars to be equipped with lighter and more affordable battery packs."

Thanks to long-time Slashdot reader aduxorth for sharing the news.
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Florida EVs May Be Charged 'Inductively' By One Mile of Highway

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  • by RightwingNutjob ( 1302813 ) on Sunday May 07, 2023 @02:39PM (#63504575)

    If you want to do it the hard way and not string up overheard wires, that is.

    Also, 200 kW * 1 mi / 60+mph 3.3 kWh.

    Which I guess just covers the mile driven and a little extra for most EVs. So yeah.

    • Re: (Score:2, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Not if you slow down. And with any subsequent crashes, the opportunity for full charges.
    • EVs get about 4 miles per kWh, so 1 mile of charging can give 13 miles of range according to your math.

      • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

        by lsllll ( 830002 )
        You're assuming 100% efficiency. Conductive charging is probably the least efficient method of charging.
        • by NoMoreACs ( 6161580 ) on Sunday May 07, 2023 @04:19PM (#63504837)

          You're assuming 100% efficiency. Conductive charging is probably the least efficient method of charging.

          Inductive.

          • by lsllll ( 830002 )
            lol. Yes. Mistyped. Conductive is the most efficient!
            • From what I've read, that's not actually necessarily true when you get up to the size levels of a EV.

              Basically, the system can be big enough and accurate enough to be within a few percent of a direct connection - at least when parked. Not sure about mobile attempts.

              Anyways, because you normally need to use a transformer(which works on induction anyways) in cable charging, you just separate that into two parts, and with enough attention to efficiency, you aren't losing much over a dedicated single piece tra

              • From what I've read, that's not actually necessarily true when you get up to the size levels of a EV.

                Basically, the system can be big enough and accurate enough to be within a few percent of a direct connection - at least when parked. Not sure about mobile attempts.

                Anyways, because you normally need to use a transformer(which works on induction anyways) in cable charging, you just separate that into two parts, and with enough attention to efficiency, you aren't losing much over a dedicated single piece transformer.

                The inverse-square law would beg to differ.

                At city-bus-scales, "almost as efficient" is a difference of many, many kW/hr of power-transfer; which of course translates to significantly longer charging times.

                It may be just a spread-apart transformer; but it is spread-apart!

                • > The inverse-square law would beg to differ.

                  You're in the near field.

                  Inductive charging for EVs is generally around 90%, which is 10% less than a plug, but 90% better than nothing.

                  • > The inverse-square law would beg to differ.

                    You're in the near field.

                    Inductive charging for EVs is generally around 90%, which is 10% less than a plug, but 90% better than nothing.

                    10% at those power levels is still a chunk 'o Watts.

                    And Near-Field is a marketing term.

                • why does it have to be so spread apart ? If the cars had a standard wheelbase they could run in slots in the road, I suppose the section of the highway could be enclosed, it doesn't have to be a standard highway lane.
                  • why does it have to be so spread apart ? If the cars had a standard wheelbase they could run in slots in the road, I suppose the section of the highway could be enclosed, it doesn't have to be a standard highway lane.

                    I dunno. I was just thinking of normal ground-clearances.

              • by unrtst ( 777550 )

                They could get a lot more efficiency by using conductive instead of inductive charging. Maybe use the guard rail and have the car deploy small arms to run against it like a 3rd rail. If they really want to get it out of the way, just go overhead with the lines. You would hardly need any battery if you just ran these around the city! This would work especially well with busses, as they're on fixed routes so we could just electrify the busiest routes first, and then we'd have very very efficient electric buss

            • lol. Yes. Mistyped. Conductive is the most efficient!

              Figured that!

              Just making sure the aliens hadn't slipped in some alternative physics while I wasn't looking!!!

        • It is less efficient but only by a few percent when the car that is charging is stationary - not sure if its the same when moving.
      • Which EVs are those? The best ones top out at 3, but that's by sacrificing overall range by having a tiny battery to lug around. Bigger boys are 2.5 and down.

        • by alcmena ( 312085 )
          My 2012 Nissan Leaf was about 4.2 miles per kW. My 2016 Tesla S was about 3.6, as is my 2022 Tesla S. And my wife's Tesla 3 is about 3.8.

          I don't know what you consider "the best ones" vs "the big boys", but those are real stats from cars I have had over the years.
          • by alcmena ( 312085 )
            I'll add that I only ever felt the range was sacrificed on the Leaf. My original S and my wife's 3 each get an estimated range of about 300 miles per charge (and a realistic one of about 250-275 depending on conditions). My current S is estimated at 400, and I haven't driven it far enough away from home to have to charge it outside a daily trip. I suspect it's probably realistically about 350 if I were to drive it at freeway speeds for hours on end.
    • I would say that parking lots and driveways would be the best way to do this. That way the private entities are paying for the technology.

    • I get 4.2 mi/KWh, so I think youâ(TM)re looking more like 14 miles of charge per mile
  • by algaeman ( 600564 ) on Sunday May 07, 2023 @02:47PM (#63504595)
    Who's paying for the electricity here? If this is happening on a large scale, you are talking about a whole lotta juice.
    • Who's paying for the electricity here? If this is happening on a large scale, you are talking about a whole lotta juice.

      The roadways are solar.

    • Toll pass billed?

      • by alcmena ( 312085 )
        That's not a bad idea. Especially if you create special lanes for the EVs so that the EVs are in effect paying a road tax that they are currently avoiding via the gas tax. And I say this as an avid EV owner.
    • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      The receiver could meter usage. It will probably be mostly used by commercial operators, not private car owners.

      • So could the sender. Induction systems know who is getting the energy.

    • by ceoyoyo ( 59147 )

      Unfortunately, nobody has ever figured out how to charge for electricity.

      • and how do you know this? It would be a pointless exercise if they didn't know how to make money from it.
      • I love it that the only reply you got is from somebody who thinks you're serious. lol. It would seem mental leap to the ubiquitous electricity meter has not been made.
    • You'd probably have to register your car to use it and the system will have to initiate some sort of handshake to check before it starts charging so you'll be charged
    • Who cares? I'm parking my Tesla at Jim Creek [wikipedia.org].

  • How much loss? (Score:4, Insightful)

    by quonset ( 4839537 ) on Sunday May 07, 2023 @02:50PM (#63504611)

    Anyone want to take a guess on how much energy loss will accompany this? Oh right, read the article:

    Details on how the solution works exactly or how it differs from other systems for dynamic inductive charging are not mentioned in the press release. It is also not specified, for example, with what tolerance the vehicle must be moved above the ground coil – precise alignment above a charging pad on the ground is already an important factor in stationary inductive charging. The efficiency of the energy transfer is also not yet known.
    . . .
    ENRX are not the only ones working on “smart roads”, still the claims appear astonishing compared to one of the longer running projects in Gotland, Sweden. Here 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.

    This may be May 7th, but the phrase still applies: This is not the solution you are looking for.

    • by Barny ( 103770 )

      My first reaction too was that they're going to lose a lot of energy to inductive inefficiency, but they are planning to power it with solar. While it's not ideal, at least that lost energy isn't going to burn something.

  • Florida Man (Score:3, Funny)

    by kmoser ( 1469707 ) on Sunday May 07, 2023 @02:53PM (#63504623)
    Only a matter of time before Florida Man gets a flat and attempts to jack up his car over the coils, frying himself in the process.
    • When the gators cross the road they will become giant supercharged monsters!
    • They'd probably be fine — Florida Man would have ruined the coils on purpose the month prior.

      People ICE'ing EV charging spots, rolling coal, etc, makes me honestly think that someone with a low IQ would come up with the idea to rolling coal down the highway with something dragging off their truck to ruin the coils (a chain and anchor to compliment their rolling coal?)

  • If it were my project, I would want to do it in a state with a legislature and governor less prone to rejecting science and objecting to green energy projects!

  • by ukoda ( 537183 )
    I'm all in for BEVs and charging infrastructure is where money needs to be spent. Reading the linked article there is no mention of the cost. Inductive charging is cool but insanely expensive. It also overlooks the fact cars spend most of their life parked. That is where charging needs to be. Putting level 2 charging in most long term car parks is what is needed, and would cost a tiny faction of what it cost to widely deploy inductive charging roads.

    Oh, and its 2023, not 1999, BEV range anxiety is m
    • True, most BEV owners are single family residence owners. Otherwise, everyone else living in multi-family structures does not have access to overnight charging. So clearly, range anxiety could very well be an issue for most the population. The best way to solve this problem is of course to continue expanding the amount of charging stations there are.

      This same technology could be used to cover the parking lot of the local grocery store and would be much more useful.

      • by ukoda ( 537183 )
        Yes, I would rather see investment in street side charging and public car park charging to help those who can't charge at home. It would be a far more productive use of money that powering cars on the move, as it would benefit more people per dollar. Also a pick up system that can get close enough to the road to work while allow you to clear speed bumps and angled driveways is going to add way more cost to a car than several level 2 charging points. Also we are trying to make BEVs more affordable for the
      • * Single family residences with off street parking

        Its going to be interesting to see how the phasing out of ICE vehicles is going to go in European cities and towns - thinking about several places I used to live in the UK, charging at home is going to be a nightmare.

        • Why is charging at home going to be a nightmare?

          I don't own an ev, but there's a few on my road. This road has no driveways or garages and yet people charge overnight. I wonder how that happens, where there mysterious street side sources of power are.

          No it's going to be a nightmare. The solutions are clearly a hallucination.

          • Why is charging at home going to be a nightmare?

            Not so much in the comfy suburbs where houses have three car garages. But many cities (Seattle for one) are promoting zero parking residential construction. That means on-street parking. Where you are never certain of getting a spot next to a charger. Or the meth addicts have cut the cables off to sell the copper.

    • by alcmena ( 312085 )
      Well... most smart BEV owners start with each day at a 70-80% full charge unless they are using the relatively new Model Y battery chemistry because charging to 100% wears the batteries harder and faster. However, the rest of your point is valid in that most BEV owners start with what they probably consider "a full tank" every single day, and yes, it is pretty awesome.
      • by ukoda ( 537183 )
        Yes, "full charge" and "full tank" is usually taken to mean charged to the programmed limit, in my case 80%.
  • by AlanObject ( 3603453 ) on Sunday May 07, 2023 @03:21PM (#63504701)

    Range anxiety these days is held more by people who don't own EVs as opposed that do.

    With experience you learn how much charge you need to complete the trip you are about to take. Most people will hop in their car with 1/3 tank of gas and go to work. But an EV with 50% charge gives them heebie jeebies.

    What's the difference? Just experience. You are used to driving your gas car with a mostly empty tank and you know that a gas station is usually at hand if you need it. Over a month or two of driving it and you are used to the same thing in your EV. It isn't about the range.

    This project may be technically interesting on some level but other than that it is jsut a waste of time. Not needed. And will never be implemented.

    • If and only if it were widely deployed, this could allow EVs to be redesigned with smaller and much cheaper battery packs.

      • But battery prices are dropping so fast that it seems unlikely that in-road charging this would be economically advantageous.

        And doubly so given the likely maintenance problems it would cause.

  • This is stupid (Score:5, Insightful)

    by jacks smirking reven ( 909048 ) on Sunday May 07, 2023 @04:04PM (#63504801)

    And has always been stupid. It's a neat idea on the very surface level in a scifi sort of way but this and soloar roadways and walkways are just cash grabs trying to bilk some VC money. Stationary induction charging also sounds good and is more practical but it's just so godamn lossy that it's be downright criminal to standardize it today or the near future for vehichles. .

    How many regular and fast chargers could have gotten installed for the money that has been invested and spent here? Those owuld have made a far greater impact on EV adoption.

    Batteries will continue to get better and ranges will continue to improve and the idea of charge on the go for passenger vehichles will hopefully fall away for good (or focus on something like busses and light rail where it actually might make sense with overhead lines)

    • And has always been stupid. It's a neat idea on the very surface level in a scifi sort of way but this and soloar roadways and walkways are just cash grabs trying to bilk some VC money. Stationary induction charging also sounds good and is more practical but it's just so godamn lossy that it's be downright criminal to standardize it today or the near future for vehichles. .

      How many regular and fast chargers could have gotten installed for the money that has been invested and spent here? Those owuld have made a far greater impact on EV adoption.

      Batteries will continue to get better and ranges will continue to improve and the idea of charge on the go for passenger vehichles will hopefully fall away for good (or focus on something like busses and light rail where it actually might make sense with overhead lines)

      If you're gonna go to that much trouble, why not just go all the way and make the cars MagLev?

      • Or how about better city planning so walking and biking are sufficient for most things, and better mass transportation; instead of paving the entire planet with tar and concrete
        • Or how about better city planning so walking and biking are sufficient for most things, and better mass transportation; instead of paving the entire planet with tar and concrete

          The only ones truly driving in cities are taxis, people who can afford limos, and delivery vehicles. The vast majority of people living in and visiting cities walk or use the public transportation.

          That said, if you never want to leave your little city, then this isn't for you. Others like to get out and see the country which means being able to drive. While I'm also against putting concrete and blacktop over everything, certain realities exist. Unless you can think of a better way to get all that stuff i

          • by jezwel ( 2451108 )

            The only ones truly driving in cities are taxis, people who can afford limos, and delivery vehicles. The vast majority of people living in and visiting cities walk or use the public transportation.

            Say what? Our census has questions on how people commuted to work that day. The latest census was 2021, so there was a fair amount of COVID influence on these results:

            59.2% of people travelled to work in a private car,

            6.2% took public transport and

            2.9% rode a bike or walked.

            17.4% worked at home.

            When it comes to overall public transport usage, 35% of residents in my city use PT.

            Or how about better city planning so walking and biking are sufficient for most things, and better mass transportation; instead of paving the entire planet with tar and concrete

            Agreed.

          • Unless you can think of a better way to get all that stuff into cities and to its final destination.

            Trains. Diesel-electric freight trains running through all the poor neighborhoods.

        • beeeecause you don't want to live on top of a factory where they make the things you need?

          • you don't want to live on top of a factory where they make the things you need?

            I wouldn't mind it. Living above a carpentry shop, for example. Until California finds two dozen carcinogens in the wood stains that they use.

    • by dgatwood ( 11270 )

      And has always been stupid. It's a neat idea on the very surface level in a scifi sort of way but this and soloar roadways and walkways are just cash grabs trying to bilk some VC money. Stationary induction charging also sounds good and is more practical but it's just so godamn lossy that it's be downright criminal to standardize it today or the near future for vehichles.

      Not to mention the extra weight for the coils and whatever other circuitry is needed to support them (a giant high-current, high-voltage full-wave bridge, I'm guessing, plus probably large capacitors to smooth it so you aren't delivering pulses to your batteries), plus the whole problem of needing to get the voltage right on the other end to avoid burning out the batteries, plus extra contactors to disable charging while the battery is full so that it doesn't suddenly catch fire on the highway, plus circuit

  • It's in Florida. I'm not driving all the way from Virginia to charge my vehicle. :-)

    But, more seriously: Florida.

  • by Midnight Thunder ( 17205 ) on Sunday May 07, 2023 @05:33PM (#63504977) Homepage Journal

    Looks like F-Zero already saw this coming. How long until Formula E starts trying the same thing for motor racing?

  • Please just stop (Score:5, Informative)

    by wakeboarder ( 2695839 ) on Sunday May 07, 2023 @06:07PM (#63505047)
    No more inductive charging, it's expensive and it's lossy. The only way to make it work is to bring the coils closer together. To make coils in roadways for lengths long enough to drive is prohibitively expensive. We've had electronics to do this for 30 years and it hasn't been done because it's too expensive. But every once in awhile some research group somehow gets a grant to do and waste even more money. We are restricted by electronics we're restricted by the laws of physics
    • Came here to say the same thing. Inductive charging is not even close to a viable solution. This will never happen. This company found some suckers to fund something they know isn't viable.
      • Company probably does not know that -- they believe their own hype. Also, think they are the first ones to ever have this idea.

  • by steveha ( 103154 ) on Sunday May 07, 2023 @06:39PM (#63505107) Homepage

    The idea of cars driving on a highway, at highway speeds, charging as they go from the road... it's solving the problem in the hardest possible way.

    A much simpler way: put an inductive charging coil in a parking space, and let it charge a car that is parked in that space.

    I now expect inductive parking spaces to be the preferred future way for charging robotaxis. I know Tesla experimented with a tentacle snake charger [youtube.com]... the inductive charger is a no-moving-parts solution.

    Plus, if this article can be believed, we may actually end up with a single world-wide standard for inductive EV charging, which would be pretty great.

    https://arstechnica.com/cars/2022/09/whats-the-state-of-wireless-ev-charging/ [arstechnica.com]

    • Or if you're parked, use a cable. Unsexy tech, sure, but it's cheaper to install, cheaper to make, much more efficient and compatible will all the existing charging infra.

      • by steveha ( 103154 )

        Or if you're parked, use a cable.

        Oh wow, thanks for sharing that, so helpful. Yeah, I use a cable just about every day when I park my BEV at home. I'm aware of the option.

        much more efficient and compatible will all the existing charging infra.

        Did you even read the article I provided, which says that inductive charging is in the same ballpark for efficiency as using a cable?

        Gruzen dispelled the idea that wireless charging is inherently much less efficient than using a wire. "When we talk about our system,

  • How much will that 1 mile cost to build ? How much $$ to kept it energized ?
  • You're putting a charge into a highway. The cars will be able to use a tiny fraction of that. The rest will dissipate as heat. I'd love to see the efficiency studies on this one.

  • by thrasher thetic ( 4566717 ) on Monday May 08, 2023 @07:32AM (#63506117)
    I mean there's red flags all over this, but what really sticks out to me is the use of terms like 'maintenance-free' in relation to anything man made.
  • Strong magnetic fields have been shown to have deleterious health effects.

  • The powers that be would dearly love to be able to bill people not just for driving but to be "charged" more for driving during certain times of the day, days of the week, on holidays, and to different destinations. They would also love to be able to shut off your vehicle if you're being accused of a crime, social or otherwise. Imagine if being put into Facebook jail also applied to your vehicle. "That'll never happen, you stupid conspiracy theorist." Really? All of this and more would be child's play t

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