The Future of Smart Road Infrastructure : A Case Study for the eRoad

Abstract: In the future, physical roads will not only serve for the mobility of the vehicles but also have the capability of enabling different smart functionalities, such as car2road communication, energy harvesting or dynamic charging of electrical vehicles. To ensure the sustainability of these advances, the environmental, economic and social costs for the road infrastructure itself should not offset its possible advances. Additionally, the road infrastructure itself may also need to be modified to ensure the long-term performance of the new functionalities.This licentiate mainly focused on the electrified road (called ‘eRoad’) infrastructure, which can be a representative case of the future smart road. Specifically, a historical overview of the technology development towards the electrification of road transportation sector is presented, along with an overview of prospective technologies for implementing an eRoad’s charging infrastructure. Of these, the Inductive Power Transfer (IPT) charging technology is examined in further details.The potential knowledge gaps for a successful integration of IPT charging technology within actual road infrastructure are discussed. Some general recommendations are given throughout the licentiate thesis, regarding such as the appropriate design of eRoad structure and right selection of road materials, the cost-effective maintenance operations in the long term, and the eRoad’s role in the overall life cycle environmental impacts in the electrification of road transportation sector. This licentiate provides the basis for further focus in this field and outlines the potential research areas that need further investigation to ensure the future of systemically optimized smart road infrastructure.