Swedish Transport Administration electric road program

The Swedish regulations for state electric roads proposed in 2021 include estimates for different charging system costs for the customer driving different types of electric vehicles. Long-haul and regional haul trucks were found to incur the least costs with fast charging stations, while passenger vehicles were found to incur the least costs with electric road charging.[5]

A 2019 report by the Swedish Electromobility Centre estimates the annualized societal costs of the entire Swedish automotive fleet under each of the three power delivery systems. Each of the systems was found to result in net savings, with the rail system being the most beneficial.[9]^: 10–11

Overhead power lines, despite being the most mature technology and, at the time of the 2019 report, having the least expensive infrastructure, are the most expensive overall because they only allow tall commercial vehicles such as trucks and buses to charge while driving, while non-commercial vehicles cannot use the wires to charge while driving, so they will have to use static charging that requires larger batteries with higher capacities than batteries required with the use of dynamic charging.[9]^: 10–11

Ground-level power supplies allow dynamic charging for all vehicles, which greatly reduces the required battery capacity and size since the battery is charged while it is being used. The reduced battery size and capacity reduces cost by about five billion euros annualized for the entire Swedish automotive fleet. The two types of ground-level power systems are estimated to have equal costs for all the components in aggregate other than infrastructure; the conductive rail infrastructure is estimated to cost about 1 billion euros annualized, while wireless inductive infrastructure is estimated to cost about 2.8 billion euros annualized.[9]^: 10–11

Overhead power lines were first tested through the program, using Siemens eHighway technology. The road was opened in June 2016 in Sandviken municipality near Gävle in central Sweden. A 2-kilometre stretch of the E16 motorway was fitted with trolley wires 5.4 metres above its surface, which supply power at 750 volts DC. Trolleytrucks can connect the power pickups, mounted on mechanical arms or trolley poles, while driving under the wires. The trolley poles allow for a degree of lateral movement, but if the lorry is steered into the outside lane, the trolley poles are lowered automatically and the lorry switches to battery or diesel power.[10] The system as tested is capable of delivering 500 kW of power and has an estimated maintenance period of 20 years.[7]^{: 140–144}

Electric truck driving on a public road with Elways ground-level power supply, near Arlanda airport, 2019.

Ground-level conductive rails were tested from 2017 to 2019, using technology by the company Elways. A 2-kilometre stretch of the 893 road between Arlanda airport cargo terminal and the Rosersberg logistics area was fitted with embedded conductor rails as part of the eRoadArlanda project. Short sections of the rails are energized as a compatible vehicle approaches and they are disconnected once the vehicle has passed. The system measures the energy consumed, so that the vehicle owner can be billed.[7]^{: 146–149} Buses and trucks were tested on the road,[11] and the system is suited for electric cars, and is safe to touch even when the road is flooded with salt water.[12] The system as tested is capable of delivering 200kW of power and has an estimated maintenance period of 20 years.[7]^{: 146–149}

Ground-level inductive coils power delivery was scheduled to begin testing in 2020 using technology by Electreon, an Israeli startup.[13] The system is similar to the eRoadArlanda project, with short sections made of copper coils that energize when a vehicle is driving over them and disconnect when it's passed that enable the use of power metering and a billing system for the energy consumed. The system, prior to testing, was estimated as capable of delivering 50kW of power and it is estimated to have a maintenance period of 5 years.[7]^{: 171–172}

Ground-level conductive rails power delivery was scheduled to begin testing in 2020 using technology by Elonroad, a Swedish startup located in Lund. The project EVolutionRoad is a three year test and demonstration project that will run 2019-2022.[14] The first stretch of road was inaugurated in June 2020[15] and is the first electric road system placed in an urban environment. A conductive pickup under the vehicle connects to the rail via sliding contacts, and the rail is only active one meter at a time when covered by the vehicle, making it safe in a city environment. The system measures the energy consumed, so that the vehicle owner can be billed. The system as tested is capable of delivering up to 300 kW with 97% efficiency while driving[16] and it is estimated to have a maintenance period of 10 years.[7]^: 167

The Swedish Transport Administration anticipates that a national electric road network would require interfaces between several players: the electricity supplier, the power grid company, the vehicle manufacturer, the road owner, the electric road technology operator, the metering and billing provider, and the user of the electric road. The ownership model can vary: the power grid company may own the secondary roadside electrical substations that power the electric road infrastructure or they may be owned by other players, and the power reading and payment system may be owned by a player separate from the infrastructure operator.[21]^: 10–11

ABB formed a consortium that will handle the different aspects of the business model.[20]