Range Anxiety
 

Detroit's Electric Road

The city of Detroit opened the country's first road capable of wirelessly charging

electric vehicles as they drive this week, a key step toward wider adoption of the technology. The quarter-mile demonstration project is meant to show the feasibility of wireless charging as a supplement to an eventual nationwide charging network for electric vehicles.



The technology relies on magnetic resonance induction, similar to wireless charging for cellphones and other devices (and discovered by Nikola Tesla). Effectively, large copper coils placed under the road create a magnetic field, which induces an electric current in a receiver in the car as it drives through, thereby charging the battery (watch 101). The process is not harmful to humans.



In the demonstration, the charging rate reportedly reached as high as 19 kW, a small percentage of the stored energy needed to power an average electric vehicle during regular use.



Analysts say the enhanced roads may help address "range anxiety"—a concern of potential consumers worried electric vehicles can only travel limited distances.

How much will that cost to construct?

Doesn't really matter - paid for by tax dollars I'm sure - so it is free!!

Wooohoooo - Free Stuff!

I can't even imagine.




Yep, for sure. And how are they going to tax these EVs since they don't pay the fuel tax?

Heard the new Elon Musk fail-mobile described as an Incel El Camino.

I giggled.

ROFL

Many states charge extra on your property taxes. I pay an extra $50/year.

I bet you're the type who would have bitched about the government paying to build the interstate system.

Is that $50 based on mileage driven?

Any idea how that $50 would compare to the tax on the fuel you would have otherwise been using annually?

Nah, it's a flat rate. Looks like it's $0.22 per gallon in Colorado, so if you assume 22mpg (to make the math easy), that'd work out to ~5k miles per year. If you assume 33mpg (which is closer to what I'd expect on comparable ICE cars), it'd be more like ~7500 miles per year.

There's always weird nuance, though. I have to pay the $50 on my PHEV as well, and any time I leave the city I'm still using gas. So I'm pretty sure I come out behind on that one, though I probably come out a little ahead on my EV.

California spent billion(s) of dollars to build a tiny railroad. Good luck.

This cost about 0.2% of that amount, so I'm not sure how that's relevant.

Charging a Tesla for one day takes same amount of energy as 13 homes.

EV is a scam.

From what I've seen most automakers are pulling back quite a bit on investing in them. For now, at least.

Wait till you see how much gas it would take to power 13 homes for a day.