Elonroad’s electric road and recharging lane for buses in Lund

Sweden’s Transport Administration (Trafikverket) has awarded a contract to the Elväg Syd consortium for an electric and recharging bus lane in the city of Lund. The demonstration area will be built in the bus lane along 1km of Getingevägen Road near central Lund. Construction will begin during the first quarter of 2020 and last for three years. The project’s budget is €9.3 million of which Trafikverket will contribute €8.3 million with the other consortium players supplying the remaining funds. Lun
April 17, 2019 Read time: 3 mins

Sweden’s Transport Administration (1096 Trafikverket) has awarded a contract to the Elväg Syd consortium for an electric and recharging bus lane in the city of Lund.

The demonstration area will be built in the bus lane along 1km of Getingevägen Road near central Lund. Construction will begin during the first quarter of 2020 and last for three years.

The project’s budget is €9.3 million of which Trafikverket will contribute €8.3 million with the other consortium players supplying the remaining funds.

Lund is a historic town of around 91,000 people with cobbled streets and home to Lund University, one of Sweden’s oldest educational institutes. The city also has one of Europe’s most developed cycling infrastructure. There are 4,800 bike parking spaces in the town, including a multi-storey facility at the railway station, more than 260km of bicycle paths and lanes. The government estimates that around 43% of journeys within the city are by bicycle.

The Elväg Syd consortium, which includes state, educational and private sector players, will use technology developed by one of the consortium members, Elonroad. Other members are Innovation Skåne coming on board as project manager, Kraftringen Energi, Lund municipality, Lund University of Technology, Skånetrafiken, Solaris Sverige and Sweden’s National Road and Transport Research Institute (7264 VTI).

The test road is based on a 200m long test track set up outside Lund in 2017 (see video). Elonroad’s concept involves a conductive rail - 5cm high and 30cm wide - laid on top of the asphalt or concrete road surface. The rail acts as a recharging infrastructure for electric vehicles with electric motors and batteries – although the Lund test site will be for only buses. The rail also has inclined sides to make it smooth for vehicles when drivers change lanes.

The rail consisting of short grounded segments are arranged along a single track. Every second segment can switch to positive when a car passes over it. Three contactors will supply a steady current rectified with diodes before charging the battery.

Rainwater passes under the road. During winter, snow can be removed by a special plow developed by Elonroad. Ice on the top surface of the rail will be melted by a heating system. A grounded strip will stop leaking current from the positive segment under the vehicle.

When the driver exits the rail system, the vehicle’s batteries take over for non-electric roads. Batteries take over automatically at exits and roundabouts.

Highway & Network Management

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Importance of road/tunnel drainage systems
    April 10, 2012
    A variety of systems are available for quickly and efficiently removing water from roads as Patrick Smith reports The presence of water in a highway layer reduces the bearing capacity of the road, and in doing so it also reduces the structure's lifetime. Indeed, the recent extremely cold winter in many parts of Europe has shown that in colder climates there is a risk of frost damage when water is present resulting in costly potholes, so drainage systems performing properly are important in road design.
    Read More
  • Importance of road/tunnel drainage systems
    May 8, 2012
    A variety of systems are available for quickly and efficiently removing water from roads as Patrick Smith reports. The presence of water in a highway layer reduces the bearing capacity of the road, and in doing so it also reduces the structure's lifetime. Indeed, the recent extremely cold winter in many parts of Europe has shown that in colder climates there is a risk of frost damage when water is present resulting in costly potholes, so drainage systems performing properly are important in road design.
    Read More
  • The Mersey Gateway bridge project continues on schedule
    October 18, 2016
    Work continues on the 2.3km Mersey Gateway signature bridge project close to Liverpool in the UK. David Arminas reports on some of the construction highlights. Under construction is a cable-stayed structure with three towers that will span the Mersey River’s expansive mud flats between the towns of Runcorn and Widnes near Liverpool. Including the approach viaducts on each side, it will be 2.3km long with a river span of 1km. The main bridge deck will be reinforced concrete. The 80m-high central tower will b
    Read More
  • Sheep in the city
    May 22, 2019
    Christmas follies Christmas congestion was caused in Cambridgeshire due to an errant Santa. Traffic was forced to halt on a busy stretch of road in the town of Wisbech after an inflatable Santa was blown from the house where it had been secured. The giant Santa inflatable came to rest on Cromwell road, lying on its side and appearing to wave drunkenly at vehicles passing in the opposite lane. Two men then managed to remove the giant inflatable from the roadway, allowing vehicles to pass. And an overze
    Read More

Highlighted Content