Future-oriented: Stopping to charge is obviously a nuisance for electric trucks that make their money by staying on the road. Honda wants to reduce this downtime by placing chargers under the road so appropriately equipped vehicles can collect power while driving.
Honda’s research subsidiary is working with construction company Taisei and road builder Taisei Rotec on the charging system. The partners plan to join the Tateyama project on Japan’s Tateyama Expressway in Chiba from fiscal year 2027, starting April 1, 2027.
Honda initially wants to use the technology in the areas of logistics and transport.
The process uses magnetic coupling to transfer energy between transmitters buried in the road and a receiver installed in the vehicle. Coils under the road create a magnetic field that the receiving coil uses to power the battery.
Honda’s design connects the buried transmitters via a DC distribution system. Each road unit combines an inverter and coil, a setup that Honda says simplifies wiring and reduces required components and installation work.
The units are designed to fit into sections cut into the existing road surface, allowing installation without having to build an entirely new road.
Another requirement is to withstand the enormous load of truck traffic. The partners have developed road structures and loading units that can withstand the traffic of vehicles weighing around 20 tons.
Another test road, construction of which will begin at the end of 2026, will carry out durability tests equivalent to one million wheel loads at 49 kN per wheel, as well as checks on charging performance and electromagnetic field dissipation.
A later review will examine power output up to 150 kW and reliability at high speeds. These are test targets and not confirmed performance figures from the planned highway demonstration.
The idea has already appeared in several US projects. Florida is planning a three-quarter mile charging section on State Road 516 that will provide compatible vehicles with up to 200 kW. There’s also Electreon’s earlier Detroit proposal, which used buried coils and vehicle-mounted receivers.
Reuters reports that a Honda engineer declined to compare the cost of the system to that of a traditional fast-charging network, saying the economics still need to be assessed. Reducing charging stops would make sense, but installing and maintaining electrical equipment under busy roads must justify its costs.
While driving an electric vehicle on a road that automatically charges it sounds great, there is still the big caveat that regular electric vehicles require additional hardware to make this vision a reality.
