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Honda Is Building an Induction Charging Highway in Japan

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Honda Is Building an Induction Charging Highway in Japan

Working in partnership with a road construction company, Honda hopes to charge civilian and commercial vehicles as they drive.

Honda's North American EV plans were torpedoed by tariffs and market instability, leading the company to cancel the rollout of three new EVs, including the 0-Series SUV and Saloon, earlier this year. However, in its home country of Japan, Honda is still looking for new routes for EV innovation.

One instance of this forward-looking challenge is its Mobile Power Pack, a 22-pound battery that can be swapped out of electric scooters at combination charging stations and vending machines. Considering that Honda's story began on two wheels, and knowing how the urban layout of Japan favors short-range scooters, this innovation was both fitting and quite practical, and has been around for a couple of years.

Four-wheeled EVs present a little bigger challenge, as swapping out a vehicle-sized battery pack is much more challenging. Instead, Honda is putting something that was previously science fiction into actual reality: induction charging for EVs while they travel along a road. Working in partnership with Taisei Corporation, Honda will be conducting real-world durability and feasibility testing on the Tateyama Expressway to the east of Tokyo, starting early next year.

The charging infrastructure will consist of a pattern of inverters embedded in the tarmac of the driving lane, fed by regular DC power supply stations on the side of the road. Vehicles equipped with receiving panels on the underside will be able to absorb charge as they travel along, at charging rates up to a test level of 150 kWh for larger commercial vehicles.


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