Tuesday, March 26, 2024

The first-ever public wireless charging road project takes off in Germany

The Israeli company Electreon, which specializes in wireless and in-road wireless electric vehicle (EV) charging technology for commercial and passenger EVs, will be deploying its technology in the first-ever public wireless road project in Germany.

In addition to Electreon Germany, the project partners include EnBW, the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), and Stadtwerke Balingen.

Electreon will be deploying 1 km of the Electric Road System (ERS) along a stretch of road, as well as two static charging stations. The two locations are determined based on the bus route and where the bus stops during its operational schedule.

The technology will be deployed in two stages in the city of Balingen. In the first phase, a 400-meter-long route with two static charging stations will be deployed. In the second phase, the electric road will be expanded by another 600 meters. The project will charge a public electric bus en route to the city.

The Balingen project follows a successful pilot project with Electreon technology in the city of Karlsruhe in partnership with EnBW. An electrified road was installed at the EnBW training center, powering a local public bus at peak hours. As part of the agreement, Electreon will receive up to €3.2 million (roughly $3.4 million) for this latest project in Balingen to deploy the dynamic and static wireless charging infrastructure.

“The project in Balingen shows how innovatively and consistently we are promoting e-mobility in Germany,” said Dr. Maximilian Arnold, who is overseeing the project at the EnBW research division. “We have a holistic approach and want to make wireless charging technically fit for German public transport. This also includes convincing authorities, energy network operators, bus operators, and the general public of the opportunities.”

“As a leading provider and innovation driver in the field of charging infrastructure, we are pleased to be part of this promising project with partners such as Electreon, and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology.”

“The aim of this project is not only to open up wireless charging to the public in Germany,” said Dr. Andreas Wendt, CEO of Electreon Germany GmbH. “Other significant aspects include the development and use of a tool that will assist public transportation planners in where to install the inductive infrastructure for a specific town or region. We have already shown in our joint Karlsruhe project with EnBW how effective, safe, and easy to deploy wireless dynamic charging is. We hope this is the start of many more projects on public and private roads in Germany.”