The country is converting 13 miles (21 kilometers) of European route E20, an existing highway that connects the three major Swedish cities of Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö, into an "e-motorway." The plan is to electrify an additional 1,900 miles (3,000 kilometers) of roads by 2035.
Sweden isn't new to the electrified road game and is working on several options for electric car charging systems. In 2018, the country debuted the first-ever temporary electrified road: a 1-mile (1.6-kilometer) stretch near the Stockholm Arlanda airport using a conductive charging system in which cars of any size could charge through a stick on the underside of the vehicle that touches and conducts through an electrified rail.
Another charging method under development is a catenary system, which can only be used with larger vehicles like buses and heavy-duty trucks. The vehicle is fitted with an electric pantograph device — an arm that connects to a power source above the vehicle, charging it as it runs along the electrical line.
A third option for drivers in Sweden might be an inductive charging system, wherein electrical coils buried under the road send electricity to a receiver pad on the battery in the EV, which charges the battery.
Sweden hasn't yet finalized the method by which it will electrify all of its roads, but whatever system or combination of systems, it will be safe. Although electrifying an entire road seems dangerous, even the conductive charging system with the electrified rail will allow people and animals to cross without harm because the conductor rail will be buried so deeply.
