A National Power Infrastructure for Charge-on-the-Move: An Appraisal for Great Britain

The electrification of road transportation is a necessary step for coping with climate change. Charge-on-the-move is considered to be a key enabling factor in moving toward electric vehicles. The development of individual charging devices for implementing in-motion charging has been rapid but their integration with the road infrastructure at national scale is still in need of more comprehensive consideration. This paper aims to outline the performance requirements of a national power infrastructure suitable for implementing charge-on-the-move. From an estimation of electric vehicles' power requirements in conjunction with Great Britain's road traffic data the anticipated power demand is expected to be augmented by 16 GW. Furthermore, a simulation tool is proposed to investigate the application of dynamic charging and the effects of system design variables. Based on that a possible charging layout is suggested. Such infrastructure involves 30 kW chargers, 1.5-m length apiece, installed every 2.1 and 4.3 m on motorways and rural sections of road, respectively. Finally, a strategic overview for Great Britain suggests that the installation of a nationwide charging infrastructure of this type could be economically viable. Indeed, the cost to develop the infrastructure to enable the electrification of 86% of car-miles in Great Britain is around 76 pound billion at present prices.