Section of State Road 516 will be electrified to enable a fleet of test cars to charge, but the facility could be rolled out to all EVs
Worries about charging EVs on longer journeys is one of the reasons many drivers give for not switching to electric power. It still takes longer to charge an EV than it does to refuel an ICE car, and there isn’t always a charging point free (or working) when you need one. Wouldn’t it be easier if you could charge while you drove?
EV drivers in Central Florida just took a step closer to that sci-fi dream becoming a reality because the state has just granted approval for a new toll road that will contain an electrified section capable of charging electric cars. To be called State Road 516, the east-west link connects Highway 27 in Lake County and State Road 429 in Orange County.
The new road is a joint project between the Central Florida Expressway Authority (CFX) and ASPIRE, whose full name is really long and not that important – the main thing you need to know is they’re the ones bringing the ENRX inductive charging tech. The system works much like the one used in your electric toothbrush or the wireless phone charger in your car, and sends energy from pre-assembled ground winding coils in the road’s surface to a receiver pad under the vehicle.
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ENRX has already taken part in several trials in Europe stretching back 25 years and delivering 180 kW of juice to the EVs that the road automatically detects moving above it. The firm says the equipment is capable of charging electric cars, vans, trucks and buses, and won’t have any negative affects on non-electrified vehicles.
It sounds promising, though before we get too excited it’s worth pointing out that only one mile (1.6 km) of the planned 5-mile (8 km) expressway will be electrified, and that it will initially only be able to charge a small fleet of test vehicles. But eventually CFX hope to offer the charging service up to all EV drivers. It won’t be America’s first inductive charging road, however. That honour goes to a quarter mile (400 m) stretch in Detroit that opened last month.
Though the $524 million toll road will cut through green land, it makes provisions for nature with a wildlife underpass plus pathways for runners and walkers. But it’s also hoped the road will have a huge economic benefit resulting from it linking two of the fastest growing regions in Florida.
