Florida Building a Highway That Can Wirelessly Charge EVs

The state of Florida confirmed plans this week to break ground on its highway-based EV charging test in 2026. The project will involve a small but significant real-world pilot that could help shape the future of EV infrastructure.

Florida’s test will be embedded within a three-quarter-mile stretch of a much larger roadway project, the 4.4-mile State Road 516 (SR 516), also known as the Lake/Orange Expressway. The Central Florida Expressway Authority is developing SR 516 in three phases, with the first segment designated to incorporate wireless charging technology beneath the pavement.

While the highway itself is expected to open to the public in 2029, the inductive charging system will initially be limited to specially equipped vehicles used for testing, according to CFX. Officials have not yet specified whether the focus will be on passenger vehicles or heavy-duty trucks. Many recent wireless charging pilots have emphasized freight applications, where constant highway charging could significantly reduce battery size and downtime.

Similar efforts are already underway elsewhere. France activated a wireless-charging highway for trucks in partnership with Electreon, and Michigan previously installed a quarter-mile inductive charging roadway in Detroit with the same company. The Michigan Department of Transportation had planned to solicit bids in 2024 to rebuild part of Michigan Avenue with embedded charging, but that project has not yet moved forward.

Momentum increased earlier this month when researchers at Purdue University, working with the Indiana Department of Transportation, completed the first successful wireless highway charging test in the United States. Their system delivered 190 kilowatts of power to a semi truck traveling at 65 miles per hour, a level sufficient to support smaller passenger vehicles as well.

“This is a system designed to work for the heaviest class of trucks all the way down to passenger vehicles,” said Aaron Brovont, a research assistant professor in Purdue University’s Elmore Family School of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

The team partnered with AECOM; White Construction, Inc.; and PC Krause and Associates, Inc. on developing and implementing various parts of the system.

“With this breakthrough system, Purdue has shown that powering large commercial vehicles wirelessly is not just technically feasible but could be a practical and scalable solution for real-world highway transportation,” said Nadia Gkritza, a Purdue professor of civil and construction engineering and agricultural and biological engineering.

EVinfo.net’s Take: Wireless Charging Roadways Could be the Future of Charging

Wireless charging roadways have long been promoted as a potential breakthrough for electric vehicles. By embedding inductive charging coils beneath the pavement, these systems allow EVs to recharge while driving, reducing range anxiety, enabling smaller battery packs, and minimizing downtime for both passenger vehicles and commercial fleets. Recent pilot projects in the United States and Europe show the technology works. The challenge is whether it can scale economically and align with today’s EV market.

The technical case is compelling, particularly for high-utilization vehicles. Long-haul trucks, buses, and delivery fleets operate on fixed routes and predictable schedules, making them ideal candidates for wireless highway charging. Continuous charging at speed could significantly reduce the size and cost of onboard batteries, cut vehicle weight, and improve overall efficiency. Early tests have already demonstrated power delivery levels high enough to support heavy-duty vehicles.

Cost, however, remains the largest obstacle. Installing inductive charging infrastructure requires tearing up roadways, embedding power electronics, reinforcing grid connections, and maintaining complex systems exposed to weather and traffic. These projects cost far more than deploying conventional DC fast chargers, which can be installed incrementally and upgraded over time. For public agencies already facing budget constraints, justifying large upfront investments is difficult without clear, near-term returns.

Another barrier is vehicle readiness. Wireless charging is not widely supported in today’s EVs, especially at highway power levels. Most consumer EVs, with the exception of the new Porsche Cayenne EV, rely on plug-in charging, and automakers have been slow to commit to inductive systems without clear standards and widespread infrastructure. Without vehicles capable of using wireless roadways, infrastructure investment carries significant risk. Without infrastructure, automakers have little incentive to add the hardware. This chicken-and-egg problem continues to slow adoption.

Standardization and policy alignment will be critical. For wireless charging roadways to move beyond pilots, governments, utilities, automakers, and technology providers must agree on common standards, funding models, and target use cases. Freight corridors, transit routes, and industrial zones may offer the most practical starting points.

Wireless charging roadways may well play a role in the future of EV charging, particularly for commercial transportation. But until costs come down and vehicle adoption increases, they are likely to remain a complementary solution rather than a replacement for conventional charging infrastructure.