Swedish Transport Administration electric road program

Alstom, Elonroad, and other companies have, in 2020, begun drafting a standard for ground-level power supply electric roads.[16][17] The European Commission published in 2021 a request for regulation and standardization of electric road systems.[18] Shortly afterward, a working group of the French Ministry of Ecology recommended adopting a European electric road standard formulated with Sweden, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Poland, and others,[19] while leaning toward rail ERS, though the specific rail technology has yet to be standardized.[20] The first standard for electrical equipment on-board a vehicle powered by a rail electric road system (ERS), CENELEC Technical Standard 50717, has been published in late 2022.[4] Following standards, encompassing full interoperability and a "unified and interoperable solution" for ground-level power supply, are scheduled to be published by the end 2024, detailing a complete European standard on electric road systems "for communication and power supply through conductive rails embedded in the road".[21][5]

The Swedish government charged Trafikverket with taking concrete measures on the Sweden-Germany-France cooperation regarding electric roads, and publish annual reports in October 2022, 2023, and 2024, and a final report in October 2025.[22][23] A report by Research Institutes of Sweden (RISE) recommends that Stockholm County choose the stationary and dynamic charging standards selected by Trafikverket.[24]^: 46 RISE recommends intra-city dynamic charging infrastructure capable of at least 20 kW so vehicles can gain range while driving on the electric road, for driving on peripheral roads[24]^: 40–42 and inter-city infrastructure capable of 300 kW or more for best cost-effectiveness.[25] The Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute (VTI) similarly recommends a system capable of delivering 300 kW per truck.[26] The French Ministry of Ecology working group recommends 400 kW for 44-ton trucks driving at 90 kilometers per hour along a 2% grade, or at minimum 250 kW so the truck can charge along flat or gently-sloping roads.[19]^: 25

Overhead power lines were first tested through the program, using Siemens eHighway technology. The system was inaugurated 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.[30] The system as tested is capable of delivering 500 kW of power and has an estimated maintenance period of 20 years.[13]^{: 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.[13]^{: 146–149} Buses and trucks were tested on the road,[31] and the system is suited for electric cars, and is safe to touch even when the road is flooded with salt water.[32] The system as tested is capable of delivering 200 kW of power and has an estimated maintenance period of 20 years.[13]^{: 146–149} Evias, which commercializes the technology by Elways,[33] reports that in a pilot with Budpartner initiated in 2021 the infrastructure successfully delivered 960 kW of power,[34] and hopes to deliver megawatts of power for logistics loading docks and electric aircraft in the future.[35]

Wireless power transfer with inductive coils was scheduled to begin testing in 2020 using technology by Electreon, an Israeli startup.[36] The system is made of short sections containing copper coils that energize when a vehicle is driving over them and switch off when it's passed, and it supports power metering and a billing for the energy consumed. The system is estimated to have a maintenance period of 5 years for roadside equipment[13]^{: 171–172} and at least 10 years for in-road equipment.[37] Electreon first tested receivers theoretically capable of up to 25 kW, installing three 25 kW receivers on an electric bus,[15]^: 27 and subsequently five 20 kW receivers on an electric truck that achieved an average transfer rate of 14 kW per receiver.[38] The pilot was scheduled to conclude in March 2022,[39] however Electreon has requested an extension for another year[40] so it can test receivers theoretically capable of 30 kW.[41] Testing has been extended in late 2022 by another two years to assess seasonal damage and maintenance.[42]

Ground-level conductive rails power delivery began undergoing testing in 2020 using technology by Elonroad, a Swedish startup located in Lund. The project, EVolutionRoad, was scheduled to begin planning in 2019 and conclude its testing and demonstrations in 2022. The first stretch of road was inaugurated in June 2020[43] and is the first electric road system placed in an urban environment. The system uses a conductive pickup under the vehicle that connects to a rail on top of the road surface via sliding contacts. The rail is 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[44] and it is estimated to have a maintenance period of 10 years.[13]^: 167 Testing has been extended in late 2022 by another two years to assess seasonal damage and maintenance.[45] At the request of Trafikverket, Elonroad has switched focus in 2023 from rail glued to the surface of the road, or on-road rail, to rail embedded in the road at surface level, or in-road rail, which is better suited for higher vehicle speeds. Testing is scheduled to conclude in summer 2024.[46]

The E20 project was funded at 500-600 million SEK, or about 24-29 million SEK per two lane-kilometers.[12]

The table on the right specifies Trafikverket's 2021 estimate for capital costs in million Swedish krona per two lane-kilometers or one road-kilometer: 12.4 for overhead wires, 9.4-10.5 for in-road rail, 11.5-15.3 for on-road rail, and 19.5-20.8 for inductive coils.[15]^: 54

A 2022 paper estimates the capital costs per two lane-kilometers at 1.1M USD for overhead wires, 0.7M USD for in-road rail, and 2.2M USD for inductive coils.[47]^: 11

Travikverket estimated in 2020 that other-than-damage maintenance costs are highest for either of the two rail systems, second highest for overhead lines, and lowest for induction.[48] Total annual maintenance costs were estimated in 2021 by the technology providers to be, in terms of percentage per year of the initial capital costs, 0.5% for rail, up to 1% for induction, and 1%-2% for overhead lines.[16] A 2022 paper estimated yearly repair and maintenance cost per kilometer at 16,000 USD for overhead lines, 11,000 USD for in-road rail, and 33,000 USD for inductive coils.[47]^: 12

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.[49]^: 10–11 A 2022 research paper by RISE estimates that installing approximately 4,000 km of electric roads that supply at least 150 kW per truck on average is the most economically beneficial option for electric vehicle charging.[25]

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. Though overhead lines had the least expensive infrastructure costs when the initial report was written,[49]^: 10–11 soon afterward infrastructure costs of ground-level rail became lower than overhead lines.[14][15]^: 21–24

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 rail and inductive systems are estimated to have equal annualized costs for all 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.[49]^: 10–11

The Swedish Transport Administration's 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, though the conditions for such a fast-charging network are not currently met and it's not clear if they can ever be met,[50] while passenger vehicles were found to incur the least costs with electric road charging.[29]

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.[53]^: 10–11 ABB formed a consortium that will handle the different aspects of the business model, such as energy metering and billing, for its ground-level power supply technology.[54][55]

The Swedish Transport Agency has been tasked with proposing a technical, financial, and legal framework for the electric road toll system by November 1, 2022.[56] The agency proposes expanding the legal framework of the Stockholm congestion tax for electric road permits, and rolling out the technical framework in stages. For the first permanent electric road the Agency will offer fixed-fee permits for use of the electric road system. As the system gains more users, it will transition to usage-based billing. The infrastructure, along with equipment installed on registered vehicles, will verify the permit and the standing of the permit holder's debts and payments, then allow or disallow drawing power from the electric road system and bill the permit holder appropriately.[57][58]

The Swedish Transport Administration announced on July 1, 2021, that a section of the E20 route was chosen to be the first permanent electric road in Sweden.[59] The road was expected to begin operation by 2027.[8]

Trafikverket has made an initial selection of procurement providers by April 2022.[60][61] the choice of technology was expected to be announced by early 2023 with work beginning in March 2023,[61] but the choice was delayed to mid to late 2023.[10] In August the procurement process was cancelled, as the submitted offers exceeded the project's budget. Trafikverket will perform cost analyses seeking cost-reducing measures that will help realize the project within its budget.[11] The E20 project was funded at 500-600 million SEK, or about 24-29 million SEK per two lane-kilometers.[12]

An analysis by the logistics firm Novoleap concluded that the electric road on the E20 section between Hallsberg and Örebro will result, for logistics companies, in reduced capital costs for electric fleets, reduced operating costs, and reduced CO₂ emissions. Novoleap notes that the total cost of the electric road may be positive or negative depending on its capital costs for infrastructure, its annual maintenance costs, and its delivered power per vehicle; 200 kW of power per truck is adequate, but higher levels of power such as 400 kW and 800 kW are more beneficial and might be required in the long term.[62] The Swedish Transport Agency has proposed in late 2022 the billing framework for the first permanent electric road, which will initially rely on a permit for a fixed fee. As the system gains more users, it will transition to usage-based billing.[57]