Roads which use contactless induction technology to charge electric vehicles (EV) on-the-move are part of a two-year Groupe Renault project to trial a series of innovative charging solutions.

The French carmaker’s INCIT-EV project aims to encourage the development of electromobility in Europe through field experiments and will trial seven innovative EV charging technologies in Estonia, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain over the next 20 months.

Xavier Serrier, project manager for the electric vehicle charging systems in Groupe Renault’s Research department, said: “As Europe's pioneering electric vehicle company, Groupe Renault is known for being an innovative company that cares about customers.

"The INCIT-EV project we launched is a large demonstration of user-centric urban and long-range charging solutions to boost an engaging deployment of electric vehicles in Europe.”

Renault said that Phase 1 of the project would involve analysing user needs and requirements, followed in April 2020 by an assessment of the charging technologies and their integration into infrastructure.

Phase 2 will focus on seven tech demonstrations on selected sites and will run from the second half of 2022 to the end of the project.

The projects set to be trialled by the INCIT-EV project are:

  • A dynamic induction charging system for the urban environment in Paris, France
  • High voltage charging systems in the outskirts of Tallinn, Estonia
  • Optimised bidirectional ‘smart charging’ in Amsterdam and Utrecht, the Netherlands
  • A dynamic induction charging system in peri-urban/long-range areas in Versailles, France
  • A charging hub in a carpark for car-share vehicles in the outskirts of Turin, Italy
  • Low voltage bidirectional charging (for two-wheeled vehicles also) and dynamic charging in taxi lanes located at the airport and central station in Zaragoza, Spain

Support has been provided for the project from the European Commission’s 79 million Euro European Horizon 2020 programme – the main European funding programme for research and innovation.

A total of 32 companies other organisations – including universities, institutes, cities, start-ups, and SMEs – have partnered with Groupe Renault for its new EV charging project.

They answered a call put out by the manufacturer asking for assistance from organisations which “shared desire to promote electric mobility in Europe by carrying out electric car’s user-centric experiments”, Renault said.