Indiana will test a highway that can charge moving vehicles

jeffw@lemmy.worldmod to News@lemmy.world – 70 points –
Indiana will test a highway that can charge moving vehicles
motherjones.com
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This is never going to be worth the investment. What is needed is more charging stations at rest stops, and points of interest off the highway. People can stop and top up their battery while they use the restroom, get some food, stretch their legs, etc.

Worth the investment how? Traditional ROI? No, it won’t be. Encouraging adoption of EVs and reducing emissions? Quite possibly. There’s a concept called “Social ROI” that includes outside effects like that

I'm talking efficiency of the tech compared to standard chargers where everyone will have to park eventually, grocery stores, rest stops, hair salons, etc.

I'm not against spending money like this, my concern is that it's a waste of money that could be going to something else. Not to mention that cars on the road now aren't designed to take a charge while moving. Wireless charging in charging spots like places in Europe sure, that makes a lot more sense, but this makes no sense if you actually understand the tech needed to make this work.

If the state is funding the project and and usage is covered by taxes, this could realistically be the future of individual transportation and widespread EV adoption, while also eliminating the need for charging depots. Where I could see this fall on its face is squabbling over how people pay for usage, and then consumers getting charged through the nose. But implemented properly in a public-minded way, this could be huge.

Do you have any idea how inefficient this is? You can't realistically charge a vehicle while it's moving at a rate that makes this kind of investment worth it.

Plus the cost to redo the road when it needs it.

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