- Inductive charging roads are a cool idea, but they are pretty expensive to maintain.
- Honda has developed new simplified charging pads, shown in these illustrations, and is looking to do real-world durability testing with them in Japan.
- The units will be installed in a busy freeway on the east side of Tokyo Bay.
Honda's North American EV plans were torpedoed by tariffs and market instability, leading the company to cancel the rollout of three new EVs, including the 0-Series SUV and Saloon, earlier this year. However, in its home country of Japan, Honda is still looking for new routes for EV innovation.
One instance of this forward-looking challenge is its Mobile Power Pack, a 22-pound battery that can be swapped out of electric scooters at combination charging stations and vending machines. Considering that Honda's story began on two wheels, and knowing how the urban layout of Japan favors short-range scooters, this innovation was both fitting and quite practical, and has been around for a couple of years.
Four-wheeled EVs present a little bigger challenge, as swapping out a vehicle-sized battery pack is much more challenging. Instead, Honda is putting something that was previously science fiction into actual reality: induction charging for EVs while they travel along a road. Working in partnership with Taisei Corporation, Honda will be conducting real-world durability and feasibility testing on the Tateyama Expressway to the east of Tokyo, starting early next year.
The charging infrastructure will consist of a pattern of inverters embedded in the tarmac of the driving lane, fed by regular DC power supply stations on the side of the road. Vehicles equipped with receiving panels on the underside will be able to absorb charge as they travel along, at charging rates up to a test level of 150 kWh for larger commercial vehicles.
The primary innovation here is simplified wiring for the in-tarmac units, which combine inverter and coil into a single, high-durability pad. The plan is to run literally a million wheels over the surface, to demonstrate that the cost of embedding such infrastructure pays off with minimal long-term maintenance.
Could on-the-go charging be coming to a road near you soon? Probably not. Japan does have the odd poorly maintained rural canyon road, but its freeway and urban infrastructure is billiards-table-smooth. You really don't want to be dealing with potholes that can electrocute people, and roads in the United States are not maintained nearly as well as those in Japan.
However, durability testing is a good way to prove out the concept, and induction charging roads could be useful for commercial applications. Especially in cases where cargo shuttles never stop moving, as in a busy port, having a section of road that tops up a battery while driving could keep the machinery moving. In the meantime, Honda's electrification plan for North America looks like it is on pause.
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Brendan McAleer is a freelance writer and photographer based in North Vancouver, B.C., Canada. He grew up splitting his knuckles on British automobiles, came of age in the golden era of Japanese sport-compact performance, and began writing about cars and people in 2008. His particular interest is the intersection between humanity and machinery, whether it is the racing career of Walter Cronkite or Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki's half-century obsession with the Citroën 2CV. He has taught both of his young daughters how to shift a manual transmission and is grateful for the excuse they provide to be perpetually buying Hot Wheels.