Key Project Highlights
Revolution in Electric Vehicle Charging
Imagine a world where your electric car can charge its battery just like some military aircraft: while on the move. This is exactly what France has made a reality for some electric vehicle owners. On a 1.5-kilometer section of the A10 highway, electric vehicles can charge while driving using wireless technology embedded in the road surface.
This is not just any charging, but one that almost equals the latest Tesla V4 Superchargers with 325 kW power and even surpasses the V3 with their 250 kW, completely without cables, while moving at full highway speed. This is a truly impressive achievement.
The “Charge While Driving” Project
The project called “Charge While Driving” is led by VINCI Autoroutes, the largest toll road operator in France, in partnership with Electreon and others. The country aims to build about 9,000 km, or nearly 6,000 miles, of electric roads by 2035, and this is only the first publicly accessible step toward that goal.
During the initial public trial, four modified electric vehicles, including a large truck, a van, a passenger car, and a bus, successfully performed dynamic charging while moving at highway speeds.
How Does It Work?
The inductive charging system transfers energy from coils buried under the asphalt to receivers installed under each vehicle. Independent tests conducted by the University of Gustave Eiffel confirmed that the system consistently provided over 200 kW of average power with peaks exceeding 300 kW.
In practical terms, this is enough to keep a fully loaded truck moving at twice the highway speeds.
This marks a decisive moment in the global development of wireless roads. Our technology is the only one capable of providing high-power, reliable dynamic charging. It not only meets but exceeds all the targets set by the French government.
Impact on Freight Transport
For freight operators, the implications could be enormous. Downtime for charging remains one of the biggest challenges in electric transport, especially for long-haul fleets. A system that enables continuous charging on the go could completely eliminate long refueling stops.
This technology will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the freight and logistics sector, which currently accounts for over 16 percent of France’s total emissions.
Global Deployment of the Technology
Electreon is developing similar projects in nine other countries, including the US, Israel, and several European countries. At the time of writing this article, electric roads already exist in the US in Michigan and Utah.
In Tel Aviv, Electreon demonstrated high-speed wireless charging for city buses. The testing confirmed several key benefits: shorter charging downtime, increased operational runtime, and a sharp reduction in battery size due to charging on the go—from 400 kWh to just 42 kWh, which is a reduction of almost 90 percent.
In Sweden, the Smartroad Gotland project is transforming a 1.6-kilometer section near Visby into a test road for wireless charging. Under Electreon’s leadership, it will charge electric buses and trucks while moving to assess the viability of electrified highways.
If this technology proves itself, the complaints many have about charging time and infrastructure could be significantly reduced, if not completely eliminated.
The implementation of wireless charging on highways could radically change the economics of electric vehicles, especially for commercial transport where downtime directly impacts profitability. Reducing battery sizes could also make electric vehicles cheaper and more environmentally friendly due to less use of rare materials. However, large-scale deployment of such systems will require significant investment in upgrading road infrastructure and standardizing the technology for different vehicle manufacturers.