Equipping bus routes with wireless charging infrastructure is 20% cheaper over the long run than traditional plug-in charging.
April 1, 2026
Original Paper
Evaluating hybrid wireless charging deployment for electric bus systems with lifecycle cost and battery health integration
SSRN · 6504090
The Takeaway
While cities often view 'charging roads' as a futuristic luxury, this lifecycle analysis shows they are actually a cost-saving tool because they allow buses to use much smaller, lighter, and cheaper batteries. The savings from battery downsizing and reduced energy weight more than offset the cost of building the wireless infrastructure.
From the abstract
The transition to battery electric buses (BEBs) has intensified interest in opportunity charging technologies that can reduce battery oversizing and improve long-term system efficiency. Among these technologies, wireless power transfer (WPT) offers flexible in-route charging but introduces new trade-offs between infrastructure investment, operational energy costs, and battery degradation. This study examines hybrid wireless charging deployment for BEB systems while explicitly accounting for batt