Roads that charge cars as they drive

How far are roads that charge electric vehicles through the road surface from routine use on public roads?

Coils under the road can send power to a receiver on a moving electric vehicle. A quarter-mile pilot section on a Detroit street was completed in late 2023, and a 1.5 km stretch of French motorway reported average power above 200 kW in a trial. Italy has a test track, and Sweden ran a demonstration on a public route. Sweden cancelled its planned permanent electric road on the E20 in 2023 because of cost. No network has yet been shown to be affordable, durable or interoperable across manufacturers.

AI illustration · Illustrative scene, not a photograph of the specific device or experiment.
WHERE WE AREPilots

Close. Early pilots are running in the real world.

Test vehicles have received power from in-road coils on a pilot street section in Detroit and on a French motorway section, and on a test track in Italy and a public-route demonstration in Sweden. These are short sections or trials, not operating networks. Procurement for Sweden's planned permanent electric road on the E20 was cancelled, and no source reviewed shows a region-wide network, a common standard for in-motion charging or a long-term operator. The stage is therefore pilot.

The tech tree

Everything recorded on Vrulum that this future needs, oldest foundations at the top and the goal at the bottom. Lines show what each step requires.

What it takes: Roads that charge cars as they drive Unlocked Being researched Locked
  1. 2023Wireless charging roadsPilot and early commercial Unlocked.
  1. 2023Inductive section on a Swedish public route testedDone Unlocked.
  2. 2023Pilot inductive section installed on a public street in DetroitDone Unlocked.
  3. 2024Common technical specification for in-motion charging equipmentIn progress Being researched.
  4. 2025Permanently funded public electric road on a national routeNot started Locked.
  5. 2025Public-motorway trial with car, van, truck and coachDone Unlocked.
  6. Date not recordedInductive charging of a moving vehicle shown on a test trackDone Unlocked.
  7. Date not recordedMeasured end-to-end efficiency from grid to batteryNot started Locked.
  8. Date not recordedMulti-year operation with an accountable owner of road equipmentNot started Locked.
  1. GoalRoads that charge cars as they driveGoalRequires: Wireless charging roads, Inductive charging of a moving vehicle shown on a test track, Pilot inductive section installed on a public street in Detroit, Public-motorway trial with car, van, truck and coach, Inductive section on a Swedish public route tested, Permanently funded public electric road on a national route, Common technical specification for in-motion charging equipment, Measured end-to-end efficiency from grid to battery, Multi-year operation with an accountable owner of road equipment. Locked.

The road so far

4 of 8 steps done, 1 in progress.

  1. DoneInductive charging of a moving vehicle shown on a test track

    Electreon reports that an equipped Fiat 500 on a dedicated test track in Lombardy, Italy, climbed from 22% to 48% state of charge while cruising. This is a supplier claim. The page gives no test date, duration, distance, protocol or independent verification. [2]

  2. Done · Nov 2023Pilot inductive section installed on a public street in Detroit

    The City of Detroit and MDOT announced on 29 November 2023 that a quarter-mile charging segment on 14th Street in Corktown had been installed with Electreon inductive coils. They describe it as a pilot to test and perfect the technology. Public use was expected in the next few years, and the announcement gives no power or energy figures. [1]

  3. Done · Oct 2025Public-motorway trial with car, van, truck and coach

    On a 1.5 km section of the A10 motorway near Angervilliers, outside Paris, four vehicles with receiver coils were tested under real traffic. Coil installation reportedly began in early January, which the article's October 2025 date suggests was 2025. The electrive report gives average power above 200 kW and peak power above 300 kW, which the article describes as achievable under optimal steady-state conditions. Three laboratories from Gustave Eiffel University ran the on-site tests. The source does not give costs or efficiency data. [3]

  4. Done · 2023Inductive section on a Swedish public route tested

    The Swedish Transport Administration describes the Smartroad Gotland demonstration as 1.6 km of electrified road within a 4.1 km route between central Visby and Visby airport. An electric truck with a professional driver ran the route. The technology test ran through 2023, and winter and frost tests ran until 2024. The agency's status note, dated 12 March 2025, says all technology tests have ended. [4]

  5. Not started · Feb 2025Permanently funded public electric road on a national route

    Procurement for the planned electric road on the E20 between Hallsberg and Örebro was cancelled in August 2023 because of increased costs and insufficient funding. The government removed the project from the national transport plan in February 2025, and the project was terminated. The agency continues to monitor electric road technology. [5]

  6. In progress · Dec 2024Common technical specification for in-motion charging equipment

    IEC PAS 61980-5:2024 was published on 12 December 2024. It covers off-board supply equipment for dynamic wireless power transfer to vehicles in motion, including electrical safety and EMC. It is a publicly available specification, not a full International Standard, and its stability date is 2026. SAE J2954 for stationary charging does not cover dynamic systems; the SAE scope says those are to be specified in J2954/3, which the sources reviewed do not show as published. [7][6]

  7. Not startedMeasured end-to-end efficiency from grid to battery

    The sources reviewed report energy delivered to vehicles but do not give metered grid-side input, losses in road equipment and power electronics, and vehicle-side receipt together. Without these, the efficiency of a whole system cannot be calculated. [3][2]

  8. Not startedMulti-year operation with an accountable owner of road equipment

    No source reviewed shows a dynamic road segment operated for several years with published availability, repair and maintenance records. The Detroit segment was announced as a pilot, with public use still to come. Electreon says it is assessing the feasibility of extending its Italian system to the A35 toll road, including a toll-based business model. [1][2]

Why it matters

A road that charges while a vehicle drives could cut the need for large batteries and long charging stops, especially for buses, taxis and delivery fleets on fixed routes. It would also put new electrical and maintenance work into roads, which councils and road operators would have to pay for and maintain. Whether it pays off depends on measured energy, cost and durability over years, not on single demonstrations.

What stands in the way

  • End-to-end efficiency is not established. Energy delivered to a vehicle does not give the grid-to-battery figure, and the sources reviewed do not provide metered data on both sides.
  • Cost is uncertain. Sweden's rough estimate, which the agency says is too early for a qualified calculation, is SEK 20 to 45 million per kilometre for a bidirectional electric road including grid connection, depending on technology and the share of the route electrified. The estimate covers electric roads generally, not inductive roads alone, and the E20 project was cancelled on cost grounds.
  • Standards cover only part of the problem. SAE J2954 excludes dynamic applications, and IEC PAS 61980-5 is a specification, not proof of certification or interoperability between manufacturers.
  • Vehicles need a compatible receiver. The A10 trial fitted four test vehicles with receiver coils, and vehicles without one cannot charge from the road.
  • Durability is not yet shown over years. Winter and frost tests in Sweden ran until 2024, and the sources reviewed do not report long-term road or coil performance.
  • Grid connection and power capacity along a route must be provided. Dynamic charging concentrates demand along the equipped section, and the sources reviewed do not report grid impacts from operation.

Signals to watch

  • Whether the Detroit pilot opens to public use, and whether the planned extension to a combined mile of inductive roadway in Corktown is built.
  • Independent measurements of energy in, energy delivered to vehicles and uptime from the Detroit and A10 sections.
  • A decision on Electreon's proposed extension of its Italian system to the A35 (Brebemi) toll road, and whether the toll-based business model is adopted.
  • A full IEC standard, or a revised edition of PAS 61980-5 after its 2026 stability date.
  • Publication of SAE J2954/3 for dynamic applications.
  • A new permanent public electric road funded by a national or regional authority after the E20 cancellation.

Sources

  1. government report
    MDOT, City of Detroit and Electreon unveil nation's first public EV-charging roadway at Michigan Central
    City of Detroit, 29 Nov 2023.
  2. company announcement
    Arena of the Future brings wireless power to Italy's highways
    Electreon, 2026.
  3. news
    Inductive charging: E-Road near Paris to transmit 200 kW continuous power
    electrive, 25 Oct 2025.
  4. government report
    Programme for electrification of the state road network
    Swedish Transport Administration (Trafikverket), 12 Mar 2025.
  5. government report
    Electric road E20, Hallsberg-Örebro
    Swedish Transport Administration (Trafikverket), Feb 2025.
  6. standard
    J2954_202408: Wireless Power Transfer for Light-Duty Plug-in/Electric Vehicles and Alignment Methodology
    SAE International, 13 Aug 2024.
  7. standard
    Electric vehicle wireless power transfer (WPT) systems - Part 5: Interoperability and safety of dynamic wireless power transfer (D-WPT) for electric vehicles
    International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), 12 Dec 2024.

Last reviewed 21 Oct 2026.