Honda plans to provide wireless charging for EVs on highways

When driving long distances in an electric vehicle, the most troublesome issues are finding charging stations and the long waiting times. Especially for those large and heavy trucks, as they need to carry a lot of cargo, their batteries are often very large. This not only makes the vehicles bulky but also slows down the charging speed. Scenes of trucks queuing up for charging are common, and drivers often spend a lot of rest time dealing with this.

To solve this problem that troubles the logistics industry greatly, Honda came up with a bold solution. They are developing a brand-new technology that enables cars and trucks to charge while driving on the highway. If this technology can be maturely applied, drivers will no longer worry about the battery power and will not have to change their driving routes to compete for charging stations. The operational efficiency of the entire logistics industry will thus be improved.

How does this amazing technology work? In simple terms, it involves burying the charging equipment in the road. Engineers lay special charging devices beneath the road surface. When vehicles equipped with receivers pass through these specific sections, the electrical energy will be transmitted through the air to the battery inside the vehicle. This is very similar to the principle of wireless charging for mobile phones, except that the scale has been expanded to an entire highway.

This ingenious design brings a huge benefit. Since vehicles can charge on the road at any time, there is no need to carry heavy battery packs weighing hundreds of kilograms or even tons. The weight of the vehicle is reduced, and the energy consumption during driving will also decrease. This means that trucks that need to carry a large amount of cargo can carry more and travel further.

To dig and lay equipment on the highway, just relying on the car manufacturing company is not enough. Honda is well aware of this, so they have enlisted two partners. The well-known Japanese construction company Taisei and the company specializing in road engineering Taisei Rotec. The car manufacturing company and the road construction experts will share their respective expertise to ensure a perfect integration of the underground power grid and the road structure.

According to the announced plan, this jointly developed technology will undergo field testing on domestic highways in the fiscal year after April 2027. No matter how impressive the data in the laboratory is, it must be tested under real weather conditions and by heavy vehicle wheels. The testing team will closely monitor whether the charging efficiency of the vehicles is stable under high-speed driving conditions. And the safety of the equipment in extreme weather conditions such as heavy rain and ice and snow.

Cost stands as the most uncertain factor for this new charging plan. The idea is to build charging networks that run under thousands of kilometers of highways. Upgrading and building this kind of infrastructure will cost an extremely large sum of money. The total expense will reach a staggering amount, and no one can easily estimate the final bill right now. If we compare it with regular charging stations, the difference is clear. Traditional charging stations need land space to set up equipment. Even so, their building costs are easier to control and predict. Businesses can calculate budgets and plan spending for these stations more smoothly.

When reporters asked Honda's engineers about the project's cost, the team said they could not give any precise number at this stage. Many industry watchers point out that such huge unknown costs create big risks. It is hard for companies to decide whether the project is worth pushing forward when they do not know how much money they will spend. Highway underground charging systems also bring extra hidden costs beyond construction. Maintenance work over many years, system repairs and safety checks will keep adding expenses. Until engineers work out clear cost estimates, it remains hard to attract investors. The unknown price tag becomes the main obstacle stopping this technology from moving from testing to large-scale real-world use.