Sweden plans to build world’s first electric highway

9 May 2023

Sweden is leading the way in sustainable transportation with its plan to turn a highway into a permanent electrified road the first of its kind in the world. 

As the EU passed a landmark law last month to require all new cars sold to have zero CO2 emissions from 2035, European countries are rushing to prepare the infrastructure needed for fossil fuel-free mobility.

On an electric road, cars and trucks can recharge while driving through dynamic charging, which allows them to travel longer distances with smaller batteries and avoid waiting at charging stations. The Swedish transport administration, Trafikverket, believes electrification is the way forward for decarbonising the transport sector and has been piloting electrified roads for several years, including the world’s first temporary electric road.

The chosen motorway, European route E20, connects logistic hubs between Hallsberg and Örebro, located in the middle of the country’s three major cities, Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. The project is currently at the procurement stage and is planned to be built by 2025. There are three types of charging methods under consideration: the catenary system, inductive system, and conductive system.