Suzanne Humphries
What if, one day, we didn’t have to plug in our electric cars to recharge their batteries? What if, instead, we could charge them simply by driving them? Well, the technology for this is here, and Indiana is slated to be the first to test it stateside.
Indiana’s Department of Transportation (INDOT) announced that it will be testing a new type of magnetized cement, called Magment, on a quarter-mile stretch of road. The project is made possible with funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and a partnership with Purdue University and Germany-based Magment.
Magment delivers impressive wireless transmission efficiently, up to 95 percent. The technology could pave the way for efficient high-speed charging for electric vehicles in the future. According to Magment’s brochure, the material is available at “standard road-building installation costs” and is “robust and vandalism-proof,” which will make it more appealing to other states and countries, and help minimize upkeep needs and costs. The material’s embedded ferrite particles can also be sourced and built locally, under license.
According to INDOT, the project spans three phases. The first two phases “will feature pavement testing, analysis, and optimization research conducted by the Joint Transportation Research Program at Purdue’s West Lafayette campus.” In the third phase, “engineers will test the innovative concrete’s capacity to charge heavy trucks operation at high power (200 kilowatts and above).”
If each phase is successful, INDOT will then roll out the tech to the above-mentioned segment of interstate highway later this summer. “This project is a real step forward towards the future of dynamic wireless charging that will undoubtedly set the standard for affordable, sustainable and efficient transportation electrification,” said Mauricio Esguerra, CEO of Magment.
We’re certainly excited to hear whether the testing is successful and if it does finally get rolled out onto Indiana’s highways. What an electrifying prospect!
via Engadget
