F-Zero is a futuristic racing game which launched with the SNES. It featured hover cars that could, among other things, recharge their energy via electrified pit lanes. If you need to recharge your vehicle, you simply pull into one of these pit lanes and keep driving.
Now this. Carolyn Fortuna at CleanTechnica—
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to charge your electric vehicle (EV) as your drive down the highway? Well, folks in Central Florida will get the chance in a couple of years on a new highway in Lake County and Orange County. In-road charging will replenish batteries of EVs as they travel along SR 516.
The first installation ever of wireless charging in concrete lanes, it will offer variable power for small electric sedans all the way to long-haul electric trucks. The system will encompass a footprint of about three-quarters of a mile.
The system will be set up to replenish the amount of energy used to drive its length. That means when you exit the charging stretch of road, you should have the same amount of battery as when you entered.
This, to me, is the true promise of EVs. Don’t let the short-sighted naysayers concern you with range anxiety or the build-out speed of charging networks. EVs can already fuel-up overnight while sitting in your garage at home. Introducing induction charging into roadways and other infrastructure will flip the naysaying on a dime to questioning why people still drive gas-powered cars.
One day we will be able charge our vehicles on the way to work; or while we sit at a stop light; or while we wait for food in a drive-thru. Which interstate will be the first to feature enough charging stretches that you could conceivably drive from NYC to LA without stopping? This is the promise that we need to stay focused on with EVs. This is the reality that is coming to fruition.