French Consortium's A10 Motorway Project Charges Electric Vehicles Wirelessly at 200+ kW

The world's first dynamic wireless charging motorway on France's A10, developed by a VINCI-led consortium, can deliver over 200 kW of power to moving electric trucks. Image Credit: PR Newswire

A French consortium led by VINCI Autoroutes has successfully launched the world's first dynamic induction charging motorway on the A10 southwest of Paris, enabling electric vehicles to recharge while driving. Initial real-world tests confirm the system can deliver an average power of over 200 kW, a pivotal step toward making heavy-duty electric trucks more efficient and affordable by drastically reducing their battery size.

Imagine a future where heavy-duty trucks don't need to stop for hours to recharge massive batteries but instead get powered directly from the road itself. This vision is now rolling on a public motorway in France. The Charge as you drive project, a collaborative effort spearheaded by VINCI Autoroutes in partnership with Israeli tech firm Electreon, has turned a 1.5 km section of the A10 into a live testbed for the future of freight.

The core innovation is an Electric Road System (ERS) that uses inductive coils embedded in the roadway. These coils transfer energy wirelessly to receiver coils installed on vehicles, reported Electreon. This isn't a lab experiment confined to a closed track; for the first time globally, prototype vehicles—including a heavy-duty truck, a bus, a utility vehicle, and a passenger car—are blending with everyday traffic on the A10, charging their batteries seamlessly as they drive.

Why does this matter so much? The transport sector is responsible for a staggering one-third of France's greenhouse gas emissions. Decarbonizing heavy trucks is particularly challenging because current solutions rely on enormous, multi-tonne batteries that require ultra-high-power charging stations and create significant downtime. According to VINCI Autoroutes, this dynamic charging technology could be the key to breaking this dependency. By allowing vehicles to charge continuously, their batteries could be made much smaller, leading to lighter, less expensive vehicles with greater cargo capacity and a dramatically smaller carbon footprint from battery manufacturing.

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The initial data from these real-world trials is not just promising; it's groundbreaking. Three independent laboratories from Gustave Eiffel University have been conducting on-site measurements under real traffic conditions. Their analysis, as reported by the consortium, shows that the installed inductive system can safely deliver a peak power exceeding 300 kW and an average power above 200 kW. This level of power transfer is a world-first for a public motorway and is sufficient to meet the demanding energy needs of heavy freight.

Nicolas Notebaert, Chief Executive Officer of VINCI Concessions and President of VINCI Autoroutes, emphasized the project's significance, stating, "The initial results... confirm the findings of previous studies. Deploying this technology on France's main road networks, in addition to charging stations, will further accelerate the electrification of heavy-vehicle fleets—and thereby reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the freight and logistics sector, which alone accounts for more than 16% of the country's total emissions."

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The journey to this point involved nearly two years of rigorous preparation. Before a single coil was laid on the A10, the consortium subjected the system to extreme durability tests. At a Gustave Eiffel University lab, traffic simulators reproduced the equivalent of 25 years of heavy-truck traffic in just weeks, confirming the pavement and inductive components could withstand long-term wear and tear. A separate life-cycle analysis by consulting firm Carbone 4 further validated the project's strong potential for carbon-emission savings and reduced raw-material requirements.

For the technology provider, this milestone is a resounding validation. Oren Ezer, Electreon's CEO, called it a "pivotal moment in the global development of electric roads." He stated, "The system's outstanding performance... shows that our technology is the only one capable of delivering dynamic vehicle charging with such power and reliability... I believe these results pave the way for the deployment of thousands of kilometers of wireless road using our technology in France, and later across Europe."

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While similar pilots are underway in countries like Germany, Sweden, and the U.S., the French project's public motorway deployment under live traffic conditions sets a new global benchmark. This mature technology promises not only environmental benefits but also enhanced European industrial sovereignty by reducing dependence on imported batteries and raw materials, potentially creating skilled jobs in a new cleantech sector.