Where Electrons Meet Asphalt—Paving the Way for Inductive Road Charging Infrastructure

Detroit in December of 2023 saw the opening of the first public access road in the U.S. equipped with dynamic inductive electric vehicle charging. Charging developer Electreon, along with partners Jacobs, Michigan DOT, Michigan Central, Detroit DPW and NextEnergy worked together to design, permit, and install the first city block of inductive vehicle charging. This first block is the beginning of what eventually will be a mile of contiguous inductive charging on a public road. The roads are open to any public or private vehicles. But to receive a charge, a vehicle must have a receiver. Coils in the wearing course of asphalt transmit electricity to the receiver on the vehicle, continually topping off the state of charge of the on-board vehicle battery. The electric charge can be transmitted only to a receiver. So, pedestrians and animals are safe from any electricity. Roadside management units contain the power electronics which manage the electricity delivered to the electric vehicles. This session provides an account of the physical and logistical complexities of this first in the nation installation.