Electrified Roadway Testing in Indiana

Episode Summary

In this episode of The Stream by AASHTO, George McCue, Emerging Mobility Assistant Director at the Indiana Department of Transportation, and Dr. Steven Pekarek, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Purdue University, discuss a new electric vehicle project that seeks to create a wireless, electrified roadway that charges vehicles as they drive across the road. The pair discuss the science behind the project, the partnership between the university and Indiana DOT, and what it could mean for the future of electric vehicles.

Episode Notes

This podcast series is part of the AASHTO Environmental Management technical service program operated by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. It explores a wide array of environmental topics that affect state departments of transportation and the infrastructure programs they oversee.

In this episode, George McCue with the Indiana DOT and Dr. Steven Pekarek from Purdue University are interviewed by Bernie Wagenblast regarding an electric vehicle charging project they are conducting under the auspices of the Joint Transportation Research Program. The project is testing a dynamic wireless power transfer or “DWPT” system, whereby transmitter coils underneath the road can send energy to an electric vehicle without ever having to plug it in – a power transfer system that is similar to wireless charger technology for smart phones.

In West Lafayette, Indiana, Indiana DOT and Purdue have successfully tested a quarter mile of highway on U.S. Route 231 and U.S. Route 52 equipped with over 80 transmitter coils that carried charge to the test vehicle.

On the podcast, McCue and Pekarek discuss the multi-faceted aspects of the DWPT project, including the economic viability of the project’s technology, potential size limits of vehicles able to use the road, and working on public roadways that can see thousands of drivers daily. Both stress that this DWPT project could significantly expand the range of electric vehicles on U.S. highways.