Tel Aviv Municipality has launched a pilot project to install wireless electric roads for charging public transportation in the city.
Tel Aviv University Railway Station (Credit Guy Yechiely)
Tel Aviv Municipality signed a collaboration agreement last week with Israeli company ElectReon, the developer and installer of electric road systems for charging electric vehicles while traveling.
This makes Tel Aviv the first city worldwide to roll out the technology for charging buses on a wide scale. In doing so, the city will evaluate the possibility of additional electric transportation, including public transportation, distribution trucks, and private and autonomous vehicles. Wireless technology requires no charging stations in public spaces.
Accordingly, Tel Aviv Municipality has launched a pilot project to install wireless electric roads for charging public transportation in the city. The pilot will be carried out in a two-kilometer route including 600 meters of electric road.
Electric road construction 3 (Credit Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality)
The pilot project in partnership with ElectReon and Dan Bus Company will enable specially-equipped electric buses, capable of being charged directly from under-road electric infrastructure, to travel on the route. Following the completion of tests and integration of the technology within approximately two months, a Dan Bus Company electric bus will commence regular journeys on the route, serving passengers traveling between the Terminal in Ramat Aviv to Tel Aviv University.
ElectReon is a pioneer in developing electric road technology, reducing the need for an expensive and heavy battery, minimizing the need to establish charging and gas stations across the city, and enabling unlimited journey times (when traveling along the necessary infrastructure).
The execution of the pilot project forms part of a municipal policy attaching great importance to electric vehicles and reducing air pollution in the city. This will be carried out by constructing electric roads to encourage energy independent public transportation; placing EV charging stations in public spaces; and adopting innovative initiatives and technologies in various fields, including transportation.
Electric road construction 2 (Credit Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality)
Ron Huldai, Mayor of Tel Aviv-Yafo: “We are constantly working to reduce air pollution in the city, and our strategic action plan to prepare for climate change has placed the fight against pollution at the top of the municipality’s environmental agenda. If the pilot is successful, we will evaluate – together with the Ministry of Transportation – its expansion to additional locations in the city.”
Oren Ezer, ElectReon CEO and founding partner: “The pilot will be a display window to the world, showcasing the ability to charge urban public transportation. This is alongside a project in Sweden demonstrating the ability to charge heavy trucks on an intercity road, and a project in Germany that represents the first sale of the technology to a commercial company.”
Read more about: Electreon, electric road, Israel-Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv Municipality
