The electrified road in Sweden recharges the batteries of the automobiles driving on it.
The opening of the first electrified road in the world is Sweden’s move towards the country’s target of achieving independence from fossil fuels by 2030.
The technology of the road also seeks to solve the problem of ensuring that electric vehicles are charged as well as making sure that the manufacture of these batteries is affordable. The road which is about two kilometres links the Stockholm Arlanda airport to a logistics site outside of the capital.
Hans Säll, Chief Executive of the eRoadArlanda consortium behind the project, said that 20,000 Kilometres of electrified highways would be enough. “The distance between two highways is never more than 45km and electric cars can already travel that distance without needing to be recharged. Some believe it would be enough to electrify 5,000km,” he explained.
The cost of the electrification is also 50 times lower than the construction of an urban tramline. Säll said: “There is no electricity on the surface. There are two tracks, just like an outlet in the wall. Five or six centimetres down is where the electricity is. But if you flood the road with salt water then we have found that the electricity level at the surface is just one volt. You could walk on it barefoot.”
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