Israeli wireless electric vehicle (EV) charging technology company Electreon (TASE: ELWS) has announced it will deploy its first public wireless EV charging road system in the US.
The company won the RFP to build an Electric Road System (ERS) in Detroit. Electreon will build the project as part of the inductive vehicle charging pilot program in partnership with the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), the Michigan Office of Future Mobility and Electrification (OFME) and the Michigan Economic Development Corp. (MEDC).
The wireless charging infrastructure in the Michigan Central district, will support various vehicle types including autonomous vehicles. This development follows Electreon’s official entrance into the U.S. market earlier this month with the opening of the company’s Los Angeles office and the appointment of Corey Johnson, former speaker of the New York City Council, as a strategic consultant for the New York region.
Electreon VP business development Stefan Tongur said, "We are excited to enter the US market and collaborate with industry leaders to further enhance the country’s mobility ecosystem. Michigan’s automotive industry roots built a foundation for mobility innovation and we’re thrilled to join this community of experts. We are looking forward to collaborating with departments of transportation, state and municipal agencies, and automotive and mobility industry innovators in Michigan, California and New York on charging infrastructure that’s vehicle agnostic and can be included in any electric vehicle. Our technology has the potential to support electric fleets of all types from public transit buses to delivery vans and long-haul trucks for logistics."
Electreon will lead the design, evaluation, iteration, testing and implementation of the pilot program, which aims to be operational by 2023. The project is currently slated for a stretch of road up to one-mile long in Detroit and will include dynamic and stationary wireless EV charging. The project will be hosted by and live within Michigan Central, a mobility innovation district, and supported by Next Energy, Ford Motor Co., DTE, Jacobs Engineering Group and the City of Detroit.
Electreon's charging infrastructure, which can wirelessly charge EVs while in-motion and stationary, is one of the first in the world to be successfully demonstrated on public roads. The company is actively operating pilots in Germany, Italy and Sweden, and is preparing to execute a recently signed commercial deal to provide a "plug free" charging network for 200 public buses in Tel Aviv, Israel.
Electreon CEO Oren Ezer said, "It is a privilege to be working with the State of Michigan to accelerate the transition to electric vehicles in the Motor City. This is a monumental step towards expanding our U.S. presence and team, and it’s exciting to start in the birthplace of the modern automobile industry. We plan to build on Electreon’s proven track record of success globally, and demonstrate its ability to help the U.S. realize its electrification and emissions reduction goals."
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on February 2, 2022.
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