Seeking a leading role in transportation electrification, Michigan will install the first electric charging roadway in the U.S. next year as part of a massive Detroit redevelopment project with Ford (NYSE: F).
The pilot project will involve up to one mile of roadway in the Michigan Central redevelopment project, which is restoring Detroit’s railway station, abandoned for 30 years until Ford purchased it in 2018.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) announced that the state had selected Israeli-based company ElectReon Wireless to handle designing, testing and implementation of the electric charging roadway. The state Department of Transportation will provide $1.9 million in funding, with ElectReon contributing the remainder.
The pilot project will allow charging of moving and stationary vehicles.
“A wireless in-road charging system will be revolutionary for electric vehicles, potentially extending their charge without having to stop,” said state Transportation Director Paul C. Ajegba.
ElectReon is developing technology for buses and trucks on their daily routes (left); slow-moving vehicles such as taxi queues (middle) and static charging at bus terminals, loading docks and parking lots (right). | ElectReon
Tim Slusser, Detroit’s chief of mobility innovation, said the city hopes the wireless charging project will attract other mobility technology companies “to help keep Detroit at the forefront of electric vehicle technology and mobility innovation.”
ElectReon (OTCMKTS: ELSWF) has wireless charging projects underway in Tel Aviv, Israel; Gotland, Sweden; and Lombardy, Italy for electric buses or electric heavy-duty trucks and partnerships with vehicle makers including Renault and Stellantis.
It says its technology would increase EV utilization and allow smaller, lighter batteries while addressing range anxiety.
The company last year announced a five-year, $9.4 million project to provide inductive charging for a 200-bus transit fleet at existing stations near Tel Aviv.
The Michigan Central project is part of an “innovation district” and will involve a public-private partnership with the state spending $126 million in new and existing programs.
In building the roadway, ElectReon will work with Jacobs Engineering Group, of Dallas and Detroit-based nonprofit NextEnergy, which focuses on “smart mobility” and smart grid innovation.