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In order to help Michigan achieve its goal of carbon neutrality by 2050, Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced last month that the state will build America’s first wireless electric vehicle charging road-in the Detroit metropolitan area Stretches for a mile.
"Michigan is home to the first mile of paved roads, and now we are paving the roads for tomorrow," Whitmer said in a press release. "Innovative infrastructure will support the economy and the environment."
The working principle of the wireless electric car road is this: When the car is driving on it, the vehicle's battery is charged through a magnetic induction pad or coil installed under the surface of the street. It won't charge the car to a full charge, but it helps to add some extra mileage to the car before it is fully powered up the next time.
The project is still in its early stages: the Michigan Department of Transportation began accepting proposals for the project on September 28. Before choosing one, it is not clear where the road will be, its exact location, its appearance, its exact cost, or how long it will run. But some people question whether the project is worthwhile. Is this the best use of funds in states with inaccessible transportation and shaky infrastructure? How will it even work, especially in places with extreme weather conditions like the Midwest?
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“It’s neither feasible nor economical,” said Chris Mi, head of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at San Diego State University and an expert on electric vehicle charging. There are several practical and economic hurdles within the scope.
Making a new car compatible with wireless charging roads requires thousands of dollars in vehicle costs. "You have to build a receiver that can receive this kind of power," Mi said. The price may be so high that no one would buy the car. If you do not buy an aftermarket receiver, current electric vehicles will not be able to use the new roads.
GM spokesperson Daniel Flores told Grist: “We are encouraged by the state government’s enthusiasm for electrification and look forward to continuing to work with the state government as the project progresses.” “But comment now. The details that are still under development are too early."
Mi also estimated that assuming a charging rate of 120 kilowatts per hour, a driver driving at a speed of 60 miles per hour on a 1-mile road would only get 7 to 10 miles of electricity. However, the toll rate for the new roads of the Detroit Metro has not yet been determined-it may be lower than the engineer's estimate.
The weather is another major issue. "Michigan is full of potholes in winter, which means that any wireless transmission system you buried on the road will be damaged within a few years," Mi told Grist, who had studied wireless charging at the University of Michigan for several years.
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According to the Michigan Department of Transportation, $1.9 million has been allocated for new wireless charging roads. A similar project built in Sweden in 2018 was the first in the world and cost US$2.4 million.
According to an analysis by U.S. News, this is a considerable income for the 36th-ranked state in traffic quality among all states in the United States. Some transportation advocates believe that it may make more sense to use funds directly to improve Michigan's current public transportation system. Using buses, light rails and subways can reduce the carbon emissions of a two-person family by 30%. However, in Michigan, it is difficult to use public transportation that already exists.
Until 2017, Detroit was the largest metropolis in the United States without ground rail transit. Since its completion a few years ago, the new system has been problematic, ranging from extreme delays to slow speeds to being shut down for most of the COVID-19 pandemic. Detroit's bus system is also struggling, and it got worse during the COVID. In the past year and a half, the city’s bus system has reduced routes and time, increased normal waiting times, and delayed up to three hours. In some cases, buses did not come at all.
In Detroit, 92% of public transportation passengers are people of color. For these passengers, unreliable transportation threatens their ability to keep jobs, go on appointments, buy groceries and pick up children.
"It's a matter of fairness," said David Gifford, who created the Detroit transit guide and is a member of the board of directors of the local advocacy organization "Traffic Riders Federation." He told Grist that although Michigan subsidizes automakers and electric car programs, it tells bus passengers that they must pay for service improvements themselves. "The way we fund transportation is very unfair," he said.
Mi told Grist that it would make more sense to build wireless charging stations at bus stops. The bus will stop for a few minutes, charge, and then move on. With such a system, city buses will also be cheaper because their batteries do not need to be that big. Or, Mi said, Michigan could try wireless roads at rest stops along the highway.
Todd Scott is a member of the Michigan Climate Solutions Council, which advises Governor Whitmer on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and transitioning to a carbon-neutral economy. In his work with the committee, he told Grist that he saw "a strong prejudice to only produce more electric cars instead of actually reducing carbon emissions."
"For the situation we are in today, we are not even willing to take our responsibilities," he said. "It's almost like the climate crisis is seen as an economic opportunity for Michigan to make and sell more products, rather than the climate crisis we need to deal with."
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