Could a single mile of road change the way electric vehicles are built? Florida’s State Road 516 pilot project suggests it might. In 2026, engineers will embed 200 kilowatts of wireless charging capacity into a three-quarter-mile stretch of the new Lake/Orange Expressway, allowing specially equipped EVs to recharge while traveling at highway speeds. This dynamic wireless power transfer system, devised by Norway-based ENRX, scales up the familiar principle of inductive charging from smartphones to multi-ton vehicles moving at 70 mph.
The underlying technology relies on copper coils buried beneath the asphalt, energized to produce magnetic fields. Vehicles fitted with receiver pads—mounted on the undercarriage—capture this energy and convert it into battery charge. For passenger cars, the system can deliver approximately 50 kW; for heavy-duty trucks, as much as the full 200 kW. That’s comparable to, or greater than, many stationary fast chargers, but without the stop-and-wait downtime. “When you can charge while driving, range anxiety and frequent charging stops will be a thing of the past,” says ENRX CEO Bjørn Eldar Petersen.
The installation of high-power inductive coils in a high-speed roadway presents several engineering challenges. The placement of coils needs to be done to assure consistent coupling given variation in height, suspension, and lateral lane position. Power electronics, inverters, and grid connections need to be hardened for roadside conditions, with a design for minimal maintenance for decades. The 85% charging efficiency is competitive with conductive fast charging but requires precise alignment and robust electromagnetic shielding to avoid interference.
Florida’s pilot is part of a broader global push toward DWPT. Close to 30 projects worldwide-from Germany’s bus corridors to France’s A10 freight lanes-are showing that electrified road segments can maintain a vehicle’s state of charge indefinitely. Research by Professor Yudai Homma has shown that less than 1.6% of urban streets would be sufficient for installing DWPT and providing virtually unlimited range to the vehicles. On highways, high-power systems reduce the required coverage, lowering infrastructure costs with smaller battery packs. According to a techno-economic analysis, a reduction in battery capacity from 100 kWh to 30-40 kWh, when used with DWPT, will reduce the weight of the vehicle, its cost, and embodied emissions with no impact on operational range.
The Florida installation will, for the foreseeable future, act primarily as a controlled testbed, with only specially equipped vehicles able to draw power. That’s because there are no finalized global interoperability standards yet: SAE International is still working out specifications for in-motion wireless charging. If and when it gets standardized, automakers could include receiver pads at the factory, and then widespread use would be possible. The business model might work just like tolls, with automatic billing whenever a vehicle crosses an electrified segment of road.
Cost is a critical factor: At approximately $18 million per mile for DWPT infrastructure, deployment must be justified against alternatives like DC fast-charging stations or battery swap depots. Yet DWPT’s always-on nature avoids queuing, smooths demand on the grid by spreading it over time, and spares batteries from wear by maintaining state-of-charge within optimal ranges. The Florida project demonstrates how renewable generation could offset some operational energy needs thanks to its integration with solar panels, producing nearly 1 MW for road lighting and toll systems.
Dynamic charging also aligns with autonomous vehicle trends. A self-driving taxi or freight truck could top up continuously without human intervention and ensure maximum uptime. Tesla has said that it wants wireless charging capability for its future robotaxis, underscoring the potential synergies in the area of DWPT-enabled fleets. Heavy-duty transport stands to gain most: Purdue University’s recent test of a 190 kW in-motion charger for a semi-truck at 65 mph proved the feasibility of sustaining long-haul operations without large battery packs.
If the ASPIRE Pilot works in Florida, it may help shape highway design across the nation. In effect, embedding power in pavement turns passive roads into active energy infrastructure. To transportation engineers, it means adding a fresh dimension to system planning—power density times segment length times vehicle compatibility, targeted at attaining charge-sustaining operation with minimal cost. To investors, it presages a market that effectively integrates infrastructure, vehicles, and energy systems into one seamless network of mobility.
