Michigan to build America’s first wireless electric vehicle charging road
In the future EV's will be wirelessly charged, and might not even need batteries.
Key takeaways
- Next week, the state Department of Transportation will issue a formal request for proposals to design, test, and implement wireless charging infrastructure on one mile of road in Wayne, Oakland, or Macomb counties.
- The Indiana project will begin testing on a public road in one to two years, Scott Manning, an Indiana Department of Transportation spokesperson, told the Detroit Free Press.
- The Michigan proposal will begin with the public road phase.
Cite or link to this article
Griffin, M. (2021) 'Michigan to build America’s first wireless electric vehicle charging road', 311 Institute, 21 November. Available at: https://www.311institute.com/michigan-to-build-americas-first-wireless-electric-vehicle-charging-road/ (Accessed: 1 October 2026).
Michigan was one of the first states to approve the use of self-driving vehicles on its public roads, and now they’ve planning to build the first public road in the US where electric vehicles can charge wirelessly while driving, Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced Tuesday at the Motor Bella auto show in Pontiac.
“Michigan was home to the first mile of paved road, and now we’re paving the way for the roads of tomorrow with innovative infrastructure that will support the economy and the environment, helping us achieve our goal of carbon neutrality by 2050,” Whitmer said in a statement.
Next week, the state Department of Transportation will issue a formal request for proposals to design, test, and implement wireless charging infrastructure on one mile of road in Wayne, Oakland, or Macomb counties. It’s not yet clear how the Inductive Vehicle Charging Pilot would operate or when it would be unveiled.
Meanwhile, elsewhere a research project in Indiana will use magnetizable concrete to allow wireless charging on a quarter-mile stretch of private road. Coils embedded in the road will convey electricity to cars outfitted with coils of their own, operating much like the wireless charging pads used to juice up smartphones. Wireless charging technology has also already been tested in France, Sweden, and elsewhere. When scaled up, it could accelerate EV adoption by making it easier for drivers to recharge – as well as in time eliminating the need to charge and plug into supercharger networks forever.
The Indiana project will begin testing on a public road in one to two years, Scott Manning, an Indiana Department of Transportation spokesperson, told the Detroit Free Press. The Michigan proposal will begin with the public road phase.
“We’re in the midst of the most significant shift in the automotive industry since the Model T rolled off the assembly line more than a century ago,” Trevor Pawl, Chief Mobility Officer with Michigan’s Office of Future Mobility and Electrification, said in a statement. “This electrified roadway has the potential to accelerate autonomous vehicles at scale and turn our streets into safe, sustainable, accessible and shared transportation platforms.”
FAQ
Why does this matter?
In the future EV's will be wirelessly charged, and might not even need batteries.
About the author
Matthew Griffin Founder, 311 Institute
Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath."
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Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath." 15-time best selling author of the "Codex of the Future" series, Matthew is the Founder and Futurist in Chief of the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures advisory firm working with royal households, world leaders, G7, G20, and G77 governments, NGOs, and multi-national mid and mega cap firms to help them explore, shape, and lead the next 50 years of business and society.
An award-winning YouTube creator with over a million followers, with an unrivalled global reach and impact, Matthew is a highly sought-after international keynote speaker, lecturer, and mentor who collaborates with global leaders through the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to shape pivotal initiatives such as the UN’s AI for Humanity program, the United Nations Conference of the Parties (UN COP), and the World Economic Forum in Davos.
As the former Global Head of Cloud, National Security, and Enterprise Sales for companies including Atos, Dell-EMC, and IBM, Matthew has a proven track record of building multi-billion dollar business units and turning failing divisions into market leaders. His ability to identify, analyse, and communicate the implications of hundreds of emerging technologies and trends is unparalleled, and his insights are trusted by many of the world’s most respected organisations, including ABB, Accenture, Adidas, AON, ARM, BCG, Centrica, Citi, Coca-Cola, Dentons, Deloitte, Dow Jones, EY, Google, KPMG, Lego, Legal & General, LinkedIn, Microsoft, PepsiCo, Qualcomm, RWE, Samsung, Siemens AG and Siemens Energy, T-Mobile, UBS, VISA, Walmart, Workday, Worldpay and many others.
Regularly featured in the global media including the AP, BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, Discovery, Forbes, Khaleej Times, Telegraph, TIME, ViacomCBS, WIRED, and the WSJ, Matthews mission is to help organisations create a fair and sustainable future whose benefits are shared by everyone irrespective of their ability, background, or circumstances.
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Sources and further reading
- 0,9309,7 387 90499 90640 568674 ,00 michigan.gov
- Pavement that wirelessly charges evs will be tested in indiana thedrive.com
- wireless charging pads computerworld.com
- Qualcomm demonstrates road to car wireless charging for evs thedrive.com
- Worlds first electrified road for charging vehicles opens in sweden theguardian.com
- Wireless charging electric vehicles vox.com
- Indiana Department of Transportation in.gov
- told the Detroit Free Press freep.com
- Michigan’s Office of Future Mobility and Electrification michiganbusiness.org
Source: first published by the 311 Institute on 21 November 2021. Cite as: Griffin, M. (2021). Michigan to build America’s first wireless electric vehicle charging road. 311 Institute. https://www.311institute.com/michigan-to-build-americas-first-wireless-electric-vehicle-charging-road/
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