Tech heads are looking into faster, safer and cheaper ways to charge electric cars, but the world has yet to see a better one than this! An Israeli startup, Electroad, has created a way to charge electric vehicles that will rid them of ever needing to stop for refueling. The company builds coils which can be retrofitted beneath a road to charge electric vehicles inductively. The technology proved its merit successfully in Tel Aviv, and next month, a public bus route will be its first consumer.
Electroad claims that they have created this technology in a bid to reduce global emissions while promising a more cost-effective, efficient, and cleaner way to use electric cars. The technology uses electromagnetic induction— the same principle behind wirelessly powering smartphones — to recharge electric vehicles using renewable energy while driving.
Pic courtesy Vibe Israel
Electroad’s CEO Oren Ezer talked about his invention,
“Our technology is flexible. Only copper and rubber is needed, and deployment is quick and easy. You can retrofit one kilometer of road in just half a day, from night to morning.”
The installation of the charging strips is not extremely complicated either. First, an 8-centimeter deep trench is dug using an asphalt scraper. Then wireless energy charging strips are placed, and the trenches are filled back up with asphalt. The installed smart inverters on the roadsides are capable of initiating real-time communication. A coil unit is underneath the electric vehicle, which receives power from the road over a small 24-centimeter air gap. The electromagnetic radiation is minimized to a level that is not harmful to the driver and passenger’s safety.
Pic courtesy Vibe Israel
When asked about the cost effectiveness, Ezer further added,
“We remove the energy source. The electricity will come from renewable energy transferred to the road. This is a really sustainable solution. A battery for an electric bus can cost $300,000 and weigh 5 tons. If you remove the battery then the bus is much lighter and requires less energy. This technology is cost saving. If you compare it to diesel buses, it’s half the price. If you just start with public transportation it will save money and then you can open it up to taxis and trams. Payback is very fast.”
Pic courtesy Vibe Israel
Ezer hopes to shift all of Israel’s electric transportation towards inductive charging. Electroad has already received a research and innovation grant from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 and has completed a program at Capital Nature, which is a technology accelerator focusing on emerging renewable energy in Israel.
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