Volvo to Study Possibility of Electric Roads

In an effort to further develop sustainable transportation solutions, the Volvo Group will collaborate with the Swedish Transport Administration to study the potential for building electric roads that would charge city buses while they are in operation.

An "electric road" would allow vehicles to charge their batteries continuously and wirelessly by transferring energy from the electricity grid to the vehicle while it was in motion. Labeled as inductive charging, this technology transfers the electrical charge wirelessly to the underside of the vehicle by equipment built into the road.

"Vehicles capable of being charged directly from the road during operation could become the next pioneering step in the development towards reduced environmental impact, and this is fully in line with our vision of becoming the world leader in sustainable transport solutions. Close cooperation between society and industry is needed for such a development to be possible and we look forward to investigating the possibilities together with the City of Gothenburg,” said Niklas Gustavsson, Executive Vice President, Corporate Sustainability and Public Affairs of the Volvo Group, in a recent statement.

The Volvo Group will work with the Swedish Transport Administration to develop a proposal entailing building a road section equipped with wireless charge technology and developing vehicles that will automatically charge their batteries when passing such a road section. The road will be built along a suitable bus line in central Gothenburg and be tested for public transport. The results could provide valuable knowledge for future decisions for establishing electric roads.