Wireless charging provider Electreon is partnering with UCLA to install inductive charging coils beneath a portion of Charles E. Young Drive on the UCLA campus, allowing electric passenger shuttles and buses to charge while in motion.
The project follows Electreon’s installation of such a roadway in Detroit, launched in November 2023.
Support for the Electreon installation was provided by UCLA and CALSTART, a California nonprofit dedicated to accelerating clean transportation, through a $19.85-million grant from the California State Transportation Agency’s Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program.
UCLA will use funding from the grant to expand its BruinBus electric fleet with an additional eight electric buses, and to build a new transit hub between the UCLA bus depot and the planned UCLA/Westwood station in time for the 2028 Olympics. It will install static wireless charging at passenger pickup and drop-off locations and transit depots, limiting vehicle downtime for charging and minimizing the size and weight of the bus batteries.
“The world needs innovative, scalable solutions with transformative impact to advance electrification, and this project demonstrates California’s commitment to a more sustainable, efficient and accessible future,” said Stefan Tongur, Electreon’s VP of Business Development.
Source: UCLA
