As the world moves toward more sustainable energy policies, one Midwestern state is already planning ways to accommodate the ever-growing number of electric vehicles on the roads.
In July 2021, the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) announced a partnership with Purdue University to develop a highway segment made of contactless wireless-charging concrete pavement. The project aims to use magnetizable concrete to enable EVs to charge as they drive over the pavement.
Roads and Bridges magazine recently reported on this project. Read the full story here.
According to the article, the wireless charging pavement technology is made up of magnetizable concrete slabs with embedded coils, which serve as the charging unit. Project phases 1 and 2 – which began last summer – include pavement testing, analysis and optimization research that is taking place at Purdue’s West Lafayette campus. Phase 3 is expected to begin in 2023 and will include the construction of a quarter-mile-long bed that will test the concrete’s capacity to charge heavy-duty trucks at 200 kilowatts and higher.