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Sweden will open the world's first permanently electrified road in 2025, which will have the ability to charge electric vehicles on the move. The European country aims to electrify more than 3,000 kilometres of highways as it aims to build a robust ecosystem to support electric vehicles. Euro News reports that this historic electrified highway will be known as the electric road system (ERS), and it will enable electric vehicle owners to travel greater distances between charging station visits.
The report also claims that the highway chosen for this project is the E20, which is located in the middle of Sweden's major cities, such as Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmo. It is claimed to be the first part of a greater plan that envisages more than 3,000 kilometres of Swedish roads getting electrified. However, the report also mentions that the authorities have not yet settled on which type of electric road the first motorway will feature.
The European country has been a pioneer in electrifying road networks. It has been testing such electrified roads and already trialled three leading solutions. Back in 2016, the country opened a two-kilometre stretch with overhead electric lines to allow heavy vehicles to recharge via pantographs, which is quite similar to the technology used by trains or trams. Later, a 1.6-kilometre stretch was electrified using charge coils positioned beneath the asphalt. In 2018, the country introduced the world's first charging rail on a two-kilometre stretch that allowed electric trucks to lower a moving arm that drew energy.
Speaking about the upcoming ERS technology, it would use an inductive under-road charging system. This technology is quite similar to the Qi wireless charging used in mobile phones. A pad or plate will be embedded under the road, and the electric vehicles that come equipped with a receiving coil will be recharged as they pass over it. Interestingly, such offerings have already been tested in Germany and US as well.