A section of highway in France can now charge electric vehicles as they drive.

The Charge as you Drive project opened on a 1.5-kilometre stretch of France’s highway A10, a busy four-lane highway near Paris.

This is the world’s first highway that offers wireless charging to electric vehicles that are in motion.

The project was done in partnership with Electreon, a global provider of wireless EV charging solutions, and Vinci Autoroutes, which builds and operates highways in France, as well as Vinci Construction, Gustave Eiffel University and Hutchinson.

Electreon said the wireless-charging highway can supply vehicles with an average power transfer of more than 200 kW and peak power of more than 300 kW, which is twice the power needed to keep a heavy-duty truck powered.

The company said the wireless charging can provide recharging to passenger vehicles, vans, buses and medium- and heavy-duty trucks.

The project is part of France’s ministry of transport plan to have 9,000 kilometres of electric road systems by 2035.

The project partners say Charge as you Drive shows that wireless charging on highways can reshape how EVs operate, particularly heavy-duty cargo trucks, as the system can replace stop-and-charge routines with continuous, on-the-go energy.

“This marks a pivotal moment in the global development of wireless roads,” said Oren Ezer, CEO of Electreon, in a news release. “The system’s outstanding performance, demonstrated in this project and verified by independent laboratories in France, proves that our technology is the only one capable of delivering high-power, reliable dynamic charging. Electreon’s technology not only meets but exceeds all the targets set by the French government. I believe these results pave the way for the deployment of thousands of kilometers of wireless roads in France – and across the world.”

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