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Electrified Road Can Charge Moving Vehicles

时间:2018-05-23 23:17:37

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Major world automakers have already invested heavily in electric vehicles and related technology – and they are committed to keep doing so. Some have even promised to stop producing vehicles that run only on gas or diesel2 fuel in the future.

The changes to the auto1 industry demonstrate the growing number of buyers willing to spend more money on environmentally friendly cars.

But one of the main issues with the technology is that drivers need to charge the batteries often to be able to travel longer distances. The batteries themselves can also greatly increase the price of the vehicles. They can also be very costly3 to replace.

Now, a new technology is being developed and tested in Sweden to help resolve these issues. Engineers there have created what is thought to be the world’s first operating electrified4 road. A Swedish company, Elways, invented the technology.

The project, involving several companies, is called eRoadArlanda. A large, specially5 built electric truck transports goods along a two-kilometer-long stretch of road from Stockholm’s Arlanda airport. The truck’s battery is charged from the electrified road as it travels.

CEO Hans Saell has led the project since 2013. He explains that the technology works in a simple way. A 15-centimeter-wide electrical rail is built into the road. The vehicle contains equipment that automatically senses the electrified road. An arm then lowers from the vehicle to make contact with the rail.

Saell says the system is designed to make continuous charging on the road effortless for the driver.

“If you pass another vehicle, or if you leave the electric road, or if you come to a roundabout where we have no rails, it goes up automatically. So once again, you don’t have to think about it at all as a driver.”

He says that currently, the battery makes up about half the total cost of a 100-percent electric passenger vehicle.

“And if you can have electric roads, you need maybe half the size of the battery, or even smaller. So that reduces, of course, the cost of the car.”

Saell says being able to charge vehicles on the road can also remove fears drivers may have about going too far and running out of power.

He says the system can be built into existing roads to reduce costs. He estimates that putting in a highly developed version of eRoadArlanda’s technology would cost about 1 million dollars per kilometer. That amount sounds like a big number and could add up fast over thousands of kilometers. But Saell says the cost is still a lot less when compared to other transportation infrastructure6 projects.

“If you build a city tram in an urban area, the cost for that is more than 50 times higher than one kilometer of electric roads.”

He added that the vehicle equipment also costs much less than systems that would require electrical equipment above ground, such as railways or street cars.

Project leaders say the electrified road has been tested in all kinds of weather and even proved effective in snow and ice. Saell says the powered road is also safe because the electricity is below the surface and well covered. The road is also not electrified all the time. The electricity turns on in 50-meter stretches only when an equipped vehicle is traveling on the road.

Saell says the eRoadArlanda system still needs a lot of development before it will be ready for wide industrial use. But he estimates this could happen in just 5 to 10 years.

Another company experimenting with road charging technology is the wireless7 company Qualcomm Technologies Inc. The company has developed and tested a system called Halo, which involves wireless charging.

Qualcomm has already been developing wireless solutions for charging stations at homes, workplaces or public spaces.

The technology uses ground-based pads to wirelessly8 charge vehicles parked over them. The company has said this type of charging system can also reduce the need for large, costly electric vehicle batteries.

But now the company has gone further to extend its Halo technology to what it calls “dynamic charging.” This gives vehicles the ability to wirelessly charge on the road. Qualcomm says the system is designed to wirelessly charge a driving vehicle at up to 20 kilowatts9 at highway speeds. After thousands of hours of testing, the company demonstrated the technology last year during a 100-meter-long road test in France.

Two vehicles were shown during the demonstration10 to be able to charge on the same road at the same time. And, the system worked whether the vehicles were traveling forward or backwards11.

I’m Bryan Lynn.

Words in This Story

roundabout – n. circular place where roads meet and where cars drive around until they arrive at the road they want to turn into

infrastructure – n. roads, public water supplies and other public services

tram – n. vehicle that runs on a track or on rails and is usually used to carry groups of people for a short distance

urban – adj. belonging or relating to a town or city

pad – n. a flat piece of material containing electronic components12

dynamic – adj. continuously changing or moving


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 auto ZOnyW     
n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车
参考例句:
  • Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
  • The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。
2 diesel ql6zo     
n.柴油发动机,内燃机
参考例句:
  • We experimented with diesel engines to drive the pumps.我们试着用柴油机来带动水泵。
  • My tractor operates on diesel oil.我的那台拖拉机用柴油开动。
3 costly 7zXxh     
adj.昂贵的,价值高的,豪华的
参考例句:
  • It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
  • This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用,左不过贵了些。
4 electrified 00d93691727e26ff4104e0c16b9bb258     
v.使电气化( electrify的过去式和过去分词 );使兴奋
参考例句:
  • The railway line was electrified in the 1950s. 这条铁路线在20世纪50年代就实现了电气化。
  • The national railway system has nearly all been electrified. 全国的铁路系统几乎全部实现了电气化。 来自《简明英汉词典》
5 specially Hviwq     
adv.特定地;特殊地;明确地
参考例句:
  • They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
  • The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。
6 infrastructure UbBz5     
n.下部构造,下部组织,基础结构,基础设施
参考例句:
  • We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
  • We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设,发展各类群众文化。
7 wireless Rfwww     
adj.无线的;n.无线电
参考例句:
  • There are a lot of wireless links in a radio.收音机里有许多无线电线路。
  • Wireless messages tell us that the ship was sinking.无线电报告知我们那艘船正在下沉。
8 wirelessly 9cf7b6b54adbdbcf4be7f6db9924bae9     
不用电线的,用无线电波传送的
参考例句:
  • I heard it on the wireless. 我是从无线电收音机里听到的。
  • There are a lot of wireless links in a radio. 收音机里有许多无线电线路。
9 kilowatts d9f87593961475fee978f39c57bfced8     
千瓦( kilowatt的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • It's about 500 kilowatts per hour on average. 年用电量平均为每小时500千瓦。 来自商贸英语会话
  • We have an emergency-standby electric generator with a capacity of 300 kilowatts. 我们有一台三百千瓦的事故备用发电机。
10 demonstration 9waxo     
n.表明,示范,论证,示威
参考例句:
  • His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
  • He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。
11 backwards BP9ya     
adv.往回地,向原处,倒,相反,前后倒置地
参考例句:
  • He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
  • All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。
12 components 4725dcf446a342f1473a8228e42dfa48     
(机器、设备等的)构成要素,零件,成分; 成分( component的名词复数 ); [物理化学]组分; [数学]分量; (混合物的)组成部分
参考例句:
  • the components of a machine 机器部件
  • Our chemistry teacher often reduces a compound to its components in lab. 在实验室中化学老师常把化合物分解为各种成分。

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