Breaking News

    Sweden opens new road that charges electric vehicles like real-life slot cars

    By Bianca Britton, CNN

    Updated 1037 GMT (1837 HKT) April 26, 2018

    Chat with us in Facebook Messenger. Find out what's happening in the world as it unfolds.

    Sweden has a goal of achieving a completely fossil fuel free vehicle fleet by 2030 and in order to achieve this, it has started trialling a series of projects to develop and test technologies that will enable the country to completely convert to electric vehicles.
    Photos: Sweden's new electrified road that charges vehicles like real-life slot cars
    Sweden has a goal of achieving a completely fossil fuel free vehicle fleet by 2030 and in order to achieve this, it has started trialling a series of projects to develop and test technologies that will enable the country to completely convert to electric vehicles.
    Hide Caption
    1 of 10
    One project includes the "eRoad" which charges electric vehicles during journeys via a rail. So far, it has cost €6.4 million ($7.7 million) to install but it's predicted that if it were implemented across the country it would eventually work out less than €1 million ($1.2 million) per kilometer to build.
    Photos: Sweden's new electrified road that charges vehicles like real-life slot cars
    One project includes the "eRoad" which charges electric vehicles during journeys via a rail. So far, it has cost €6.4 million ($7.7 million) to install but it's predicted that if it were implemented across the country it would eventually work out less than €1 million ($1.2 million) per kilometer to build.
    Hide Caption
    2 of 10
    The trial track built by eRoadArlanda stretches along two kilometers (1.2 miles) and has been installed on public road "893" just 30 minutes outside of Stockholm.
    Photos: Sweden's new electrified road that charges vehicles like real-life slot cars
    The trial track built by eRoadArlanda stretches along two kilometers (1.2 miles) and has been installed on public road "893" just 30 minutes outside of Stockholm.
    Hide Caption
    3 of 10
    Electricity is transferred to vehicles via a movable arm that attaches to a track in the middle of the road. While the system is designed with the capacity to feed heavier vehicles such as trucks, it's also developed to work for cars and buses.
    Photos: Sweden's new electrified road that charges vehicles like real-life slot cars
    Electricity is transferred to vehicles via a movable arm that attaches to a track in the middle of the road. While the system is designed with the capacity to feed heavier vehicles such as trucks, it's also developed to work for cars and buses.
    Hide Caption
    4 of 10
    When vehicles approach the track, a sensor from the car or truck detects the electrified rail and a movable arm from underneath the vehicle lowers and inserts into the rail.
    Photos: Sweden's new electrified road that charges vehicles like real-life slot cars
    When vehicles approach the track, a sensor from the car or truck detects the electrified rail and a movable arm from underneath the vehicle lowers and inserts into the rail.
    Hide Caption
    5 of 10
    eRoadArlanda says the road is an example of a sustainable and cost-effective solution to enable the electrification of existing commercial roads.