What If We Had Roads That Charged Electric Cars?
Delhi is one of the most polluted states in the world and India has three out of ten such states that contribute to the world’s pollution. In such a situation, the concept of electric cars really does seem like a viable option and is one that should be explored in our country, slowly and steadily. However, England has gone a step ahead, in a direction that can prove to actually solve a lot of environmental problems.
In a report released last night, a trial in England is attempting to boost the range of electric cars by trying to get roads that charge these vehicles as you drive along them.
We all know how tedious charging ones electric cars can be. You have to be either at home or near a charging station and forget abroad, we don’t have such facilities in our country, as yet. Therefore, roads that help you charge your car making it go more than the average 260 miles, that electric cars usually go, sounds ideal.
Highways England has decided to run an 18 month scheme to work on trial charging lanes after completing a feasibility study, of course. (The texting however, won’t be on public roads, yet.) Mashable reported:
Transport minister Andrew Jones said,”the government is already committing £500 million over the next five years to keep Britain at the forefront of this technology.”
How it will work is that, certain electric cars will be fixed with wireless technology and special equipment will be installed under the roads to portray motorway conditions. Through this and electric cables, an electromagnetic force will be generated which will be picked up by a coil, inside the car, thus converting it into electricity.
The trial is set to take place later this year and isn’t the first time something like this is going to be attempted. In South Korea, a 7.5-mile (12 km) stretch of road charges up electric buses as they drive along, via a process called Shaped Magnetic Field in Resonance (SMFIR).
If the trial is successful, it will lead to an increase of electric vehicles and a decrease in pollution, which is what the world needs right now. However, some skeptics have spoken against the scheme. Dr Paul Nieuwenhuis, the director of Cardiff Business School’s Electric Vehicle Centre of Excellence, told the BBC that “it sounds very ambitious and the cost will be the biggest issue.” He concluded, “I’m not totally convinced it’s worth it.”
While England conducts the trials, we hope that India has similar breakthroughs that make us move towards a greener society. What do you think? Let us know in the comments below.
Source: [tw-button size=”medium” background=”#07ABE2″ color=”” target=”_self” link=”http://mashable.com/2015/08/17/electric-car-charging-uk/”]Mashable[/tw-button]
