The solution to the lack of charging points for electric vehicles exists, and it works. 75 kilometers from Milan, next to the A35 motorway that connects the Milanese capital with Brescia, very close to the Chiari Ovest exit, is the Arena del Futuro experimental circuit. An installation under whose floor, at a depth of 12 centimeters, electric current flows with a continuous power of 1 MW to feed while walking to all kinds of electric cars that circulate on the asphalt.
Arena del Futuro is a project resulting from the collaboration between the automobile company Stellantis and A35 Brebemi, a subsidiary of the Mexican group Aleatica, several Italian universities, research centers and public bodies.
1,050 meter ring
This innovative test ring 1,050 m long, considered one of the 100 Best Inventions of the Year 2021 by Time magazine, uses wireless power transfer technology, also known by its acronym in English, DWPT.
A system of coils under the asphalt, fed by an electrical power of 1 MW, provide enough energy to feed the battery of all types of vehicles, from passenger cars, such as the Fiat 500 Electric with which we circulate, to buses or trucks. No need for cables or stopping at a charging station: a simple receiver in the lower part of the vehicle is enough for vehicles to maintain a charge and even, in cases such as trucks or cars, recharge.
The tests carried out with the Fiat 500 Electric in the Arena del Futuro circuit, traveling at simulated speeds similar to those of a motorway (between 70 and 100 km/h), have shown that the induction charging system has not only received electricity from the road, but also this energy has been enough to not having to consume electricity from your own battery. In such a way that at the end of the test the vehicle ends up with a greater charge in the battery than it had when starting the journey. On average, the Fiat 500 charges 1% every 5 laps around the circuit, which is equivalent to a full recharge after 525 kilometres.
2 million cost
The ring of the 1,050-meter experimental layout has had a cost of 2 million euros, as explained by those responsible for the project, but they clarify that this price is that of an installation in which it starts from scratch and in which the road must be built and then lay the wiring for electrical induction.
In the event that the system will be installed on already existing layouts, the cost is lower, because you only have to open a trench to place the installation wiring. In addition, being an experimental prototype, the cost is higher. Once the model is democratized, the cost per kilometer would drop considerably, as they explain.
This system is already a reality in several countries, but for the moment in very short journeys. In Israel there is a route of 500 meters that uses a bus line, in Germany there is another of 100 meters and a similar route in the American city of Illinois.
Those responsible for the project say that in the first phase this system is ideal for urban routes or in closed areas such as airports (transferring passengers from the terminal to the planes) or in industrial areas to carry merchandise or personnel within the facility. But, beyond the bus lines, this system is very easy to apply to electric cars, which can be easily adapted for this type of charging.
single regulation
However, for this model to be democratized, it depends, to a large extent, on the harmonization of regulations at the European level and on the homologation of the system in all countries.
The world road association is studying this system to find solutions to decarbonization and that in 2035 has its first date marked by fire with the ban on manufacturing vehicles that emit CO2.
The efficiency of the energy flow from the pavement to the car is similar to what can be found in fast charging stations. In addition, measurements of the magnetic field intensity have produced results that show that this technology does not have a negative impact on the health of the driver and his passengers.
Direct current (CC) circulates instead of alternating current (AC) under the layout of the Arena del Futuro experimental circuit, since it reduces power losses and ensures direct integration with electricity from renewable sources, without having to convert it to alternating current. In addition, it allows the use of aluminum cables, which are thinner, lighter and easier to recycle than copper cables.
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