Cost Effective Wireless Electrical Transportation

Project Information

CEWET

Grant agreement ID: 696869

DOI

10.3030/696869

Project closed

EC signature date 11 October 2015

Start date 1 October 2015

End date 31 March 2016

Funded under

• SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Smart, Green And Integrated Transport

Total cost

€ 71 429,00

EU contribution

€ 50 000,00

Coordinated by

ELECTRIC ROAD LTD
Israel

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - CEWET (Cost Effective Wireless Electrical Transportation)

Reporting period: 2015-10-01 to 2016-03-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The public transit bus industry is under regulatory and public policy pressure to adopt clean solutions that reduce dependence on oil without compromising service, and yet lower operating costs. Electric cars can fulfil these requirements, but they are have limited range and high battery costs, substantially increasing expenditures on vehicles and infrastructure.
ElectRoad has developed a technology that makes possible the first electrical vehicle whose EV engine is directly energized wirelessly, eliminating the need for fuelling or for having a battery, halves the vehicle’s cost, and avoids fussy battery handling and disposition, while the required infrastructure is relatively easy and economical to install. A generic approach allows connecting any electric vehicle with minimal changes, thus allowing use of existing fleets regardless of the bus manufacturer. CEWET aims to explore the feasibility of commercialising this technology.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

In CEWET, the outline of specifications for prototype design, requirements for field testing, and adaptation to markets were prepared, with emphasis on system simplicity, minimal costs, environmental resistance, low maintenance and driver freedom.
In CEWET, ElectRoad has also prepared a business plan including market analysis, and found that conductive technology is applicable to a variety of uses and markets, and that metropolitan transit segments are the most suitable for our penetration. The market is growing substantially and demand for green buses increases, especially in the China. Analysis of competitors demonstrated the superiority of ElectRoad’s technology in these markets. The thorough business plan discusses positioning, pricing, SWOT analysis, Go-To-Market strategy and market penetration.
A risk reduction plan for market adoption was developed along with mitigations for the technological and business risks; it convinced us that many of our concerns can be discarded. Assessment of intellectual property rights found freedom to operate, especially vs competitors. Two patent applications were filed and assigned to us.
Pilots trials are the main expense foreseen for the upcoming three years, and most funds will be invested in product development and demonstrations. Submission of a Phase II proposal is planned.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

CEWET’s analysis helped us to focus our objectives, define our first market segment and identify and connect with strategic partners. It helped clearing our IP and risk concerns.
We are ready to continue the project!

The accumulator array strip

Electroad Bus concept