Electric Vehicle Test Track Opens in Bavaria for Overhead Line Charging Trials
Revved Up: Electrifying Highways in Northern Bavaria
Surprise, petrol heads! A groundbreaking project is underway in Northern Bavaria that could revolutionize electric vehicle travel and help battle climate change. Buckle up, as e-cars could soon charge on the fly!
Nuremberg – It’s a well-known struggle: limited range and underdeveloped charging stations often put people off electric cars, especially for long journeys. Enter the E-car’s dream come true – charging while you drive. This intriguing concept is being brought to life in Northern Bavaria with a novel research project, yet to be attempted in Germany.
How does charging on the go work?
Imagine the wireless charging of your smartphone and apply it to a car. This technology, known as inductive charging, uses electromagnetic induction to send power to your ride during a drive. Coils embedded beneath the road surface generate a magnetic field. When a car crosses or parks on the road, the magnetic field creates a voltage in the counter-coil inside the vehicle, which is then converted into electrical energy to charge the battery right away.
Source: Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
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A test track stretches along a stretch of the A6
Researchers from the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) have been planning this test track since 2023, with construction set to commence in May. Anticipate those first test drives this summer, specifically towards the end of July or early August. The test track will be built on a section of the A6 near Amberg, as reported by BR. The necessary equipment will be installed during roadworks near the Oberpfälzer Alb Nord rest area, east of Nuremberg.
Steering the world towards sustainable travel
The project’s primary goal is to develop a standard for the production and installation of the roadside coils. Team leader, Alexander Kühl from the Chair of Manufacturing Automation, expressed the project’s broader intent: “With sustainable transportation options such as electric cars, we can help slow climate change.” Such lofty aspirations have attracted generous funding, with the Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection, as well as the German Motorway AG, pledging a total of eight million euros for the project.
Clarifying questions through operation: "How efficient is the system?"
Professor Florian Risch from FAU explained to BR that the test track operation aims to answer pressing questions, such as "How efficient is the system?" and "How was the installation process?". Alas, the test track is only one kilometer long, so an e-car cannot be completely charged while driving over it. Yet, this limitation was anticipated, as Kühl notes: “Up to 70 kW of power has been transferred in similar tests thus far." The project follows in the footsteps of countries such as Sweden, Israel, and the USA, which have attempted similar projects, but this represents the first one in Germany.
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Comments
[1] Steg, U (2017) Future mobile wireless power transfer. IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, 32(9), pp.5773–5785.
[4] Bitsche, R, et al. (2018) Potential for inductive power transfer in electric road systems – A multi-objective cost-benefit analysis. Energies, 11(7), p.1843.
[5] Olarraondo, J, et al. (2019) Wireless Power Transfer to Electric Vehicles – A Review. Energies, 12(9), p.2188.
The project in Northern Bavaria aims to revolutionize electric vehicle travel by developing a standard for inductive charging technology, using electricity generated from coils embedded beneath the road to charge e-cars as they drive or park. This technology could help slow climate change and steer the world towards sustainable travel.
In the test track under construction along a stretch of the A6 since 2023, researchers from the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg will conduct tests to determine the efficiency of the system and the installation process, thereby creating a roadmap for the broader implementation of this technology.
