The electric road was inaugurated by the chairman of the municipal board, Philip Sandberg, making a premiere trip by bus. Days before that, the rails had been laid out in the northbound bus lane on the Getingvägen — and it did not take many hours of assembly for the rails to be in place. As a second part of the project, a rail will be milled down into the roadway of the southbound bus lane.

The patented solution being tested in Lund is developed by the Swedish company Elonroad AB in cooperation with Lund University of Technologya. Charging can take place both while driving and stationary and works with most types of vehicles, such as passenger cars, buses or heavy trucks — in urban environments or on motorways.

“With Elonroad's technology, installation is exceptionally easy and cost-effective. The charging rail has advanced technology that simultaneously makes the road network smart and digital,” says Karin Ebbinghaus, CEO of Elonroad AB.

The energy is transferred from charging rails in the road to the vehicle via an extractor that precipitates underneath the vehicle. The stripper makes direct contact with the charging rails in a conductive system, which means an efficient transfer of current of up to 300 kW from the rails to the vehicle. The charging rail on the road is energized in meter-long sections. Safety is high because the energized part is always covered by the vehicle itself. The short sections make Evolution road different from many other electric road projects where significantly longer sections are used.

The Project Evolution Road started in 2019 and runs until 2022. The first vehicle to be tested is an electric bus from Solaris and it will be test-driven on the electric road one week per month. A visitor centre is also opening in connection with the electric road in Lund.

“We are proud to be part of this transition for the environment and climate. We really believe in this technology and want to show off its benefits. It would not have been possible without our partners who worked until the very end to get the first section of the electric road in place and now inaugurated, said Per Löfberg, project manager, Evolution Road, in connection with the opening.

Peter Kisch, project manager for Lund Municipality's innovation platform Future by Lund was involved in an early phase of the electric road when the project was formed and when the application was to be written.

“It's great to see that the project is finally coming to an end after just over six years,” says Peter Kisch. This puts the finger on the fact that you have to be persistent in order to get to the finish line in matters like this. Innovator Dan Zethraeus and his gang have pulled the big shot and the rest of us have been able to stand by and support.

The opening ceremony was attended by Minister of Energy and Digitalisation Anders Ygeman via link.

“Electrification of the transport sector is crucial for us to achieve our climate goals. Electric roads are an important part of the work to reduce emissions, and Evolution Road will be able to provide important knowledge in the work ahead, said the Minister of Energy and Digitalization at the opening ceremony.

‍

More about Evolution road

The Evolution Road project has been commissioned by Swedish Transport Administration to build a demonstration plant for electric roads. The aim is to create more knowledge about electric roads and investigate the potential for electric roads as a complement in a future fossil-free transport system.

Behind the initiative is a southern Swedish consortium, Evolution Road, which is supported and funded by the Swedish Transport Administration. The goal is to test and create more knowledge about electric roads over two years, a climate-smart technology that allows electric vehicles to be charged from the road while driving.

The project is made possible by a collaboration between nine partners: Elonroad AB, Innovation Skåne AB, Kraftringen Energi AB, Lund Municipality, Lund University of Technology, Ramboll, Skånetrafiken, Solaris Sweden AB and National Road and Transport Research Institute, VTI.

According to Sweden's climate goals, climate emissions from the Swedish transport sector are to decrease by 70 percent by 2030, and an important part of this could be the electrification of road transport. The tests of electric roads now underway in Sweden are a first step in creating a charging infrastructure that will enable the shift to an electrified and fossil-free fleet of vehicles with reduced emissions. Trafikverket is the main financier and has invested SEK 84 million in the venture in Skåne, out of a total of 96 million, to create more knowledge about the technology, but also about operation, maintenance and environmental effects.

‍

Facts Evolution road

Financier: Swedish Transport Administration

Project budget: 96 million, of which 84 million from the Swedish Transport Administration

Project Time: 2019—2022

Partnerschappen: Elonroad AB, Innovation Skåne AB, Kraftringen Energi AB, Lund Municipality, Lund University of Technology, Ramboll, Skånetrafiken, Solaris Sverige AB and the State Road and Transport Research Institute, VTI.

‍