Sourcing Renewables  -  August 4, 2021

Purdue Univ. and Indiana DOT Launch Wireless Highway EV Charging Research

Purdue University and the Indiana Department of Transportation are partnering on the development of wireless technology to allow for charging electric vehicles while driving on the highway using magnetizable concrete.

The project is part of the Advancing Sustainability through Power Infrastructure for Road Electrification (ASPIRE) Initiative, an Engineering Research Center funded by the National Science Foundation, and is the result of collaboration among universities, governments and businesses. The development of such technology to allow for contactless wireless charging while driving is relying on magnetized concrete developed by German startup Magment GmbH. 

“The field of transportation is in the midst of a transformation not experienced since the invention of the automobile,” Nadia Gkritza, professor of civil engineering and agricultural and biological engineering and ASPIRE campus director at Purdue University, said in a statement. “Through this research, we envision opportunities to reduce emissions and near-road exposures to pollutants, coupled with other transportation innovations in shared mobility and automation that will shape data-driven policies encouraging advances.”

INDOT plans to use the technology to electrify a segment of interstate highway within Indiana once testing is complete. The project will include three phases, the first two of which will involve pavement testing, analysis and optimization research. Phase 3 will be the construction of a quarter-mile-long street of concrete to test its capacity to charge heavy trucks.

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