Range anxiety and long charging stops remain two of the biggest hurdles keeping drivers away from electric vehicles. Honda thinks part of the answer could be built directly into the road. The Japanese automaker has announced that it has developed the core technology for dynamic wireless power transfer (DWPT), a system that charges an EV’s battery while it is moving, and it plans to begin demonstration testing on a public expressway in Japan starting in April 2027.

The project is a partnership between Honda R&D, construction giant Taisei Corporation, and its road-building subsidiary Taisei Rotec. Together, the three companies have spent the past year developing a “magnetic coupling” wireless charging road system, building on research Honda has been carrying out since 2021.

How It Works

The concept is similar to the wireless charging pad many people use for their smartphones, scaled up and laid in a line beneath the asphalt. A series of transmitter units, called ground assemblies, are embedded in the road surface. When a properly equipped vehicle drives over them, a receiver mounted underneath the car picks up energy through magnetic coupling and sends it to the battery.

Honda says its design packs the inverter and the coil into a single unit for each ground assembly, which the company describes as a world first. The units are linked through a direct-current (DC) distribution network, which simplifies wiring and reduces the number of components needed along the road. Taisei developed the high-response DC power supply system, while Taisei Rotec created methods to mill out existing pavement and drop the charging units in, so roads would not need to be rebuilt from scratch.

Built for Heavy Trucks First

While passenger EVs are a potential application, Honda is designing the system first for large commercial vehicles weighing around 20 tons. The target output is up to 150 kW, a level comparable to many roadside DC fast chargers. For trucks and delivery fleets that cover predictable routes, charging on the move could mean smaller and lighter batteries, less downtime at depots, and more cargo capacity.

That focus also explains why durability is a major part of the program. The ground units have been structurally optimized to withstand heavy loads, and the partners will put them through an intensive test that simulates one million wheel passes at 49 kN per wheel using real vehicles.

The Testing Roadmap

The partners have already completed validation testing of the charging system, pavement structure, and construction methods at Taisei’s test field in Satte, Japan. Starting in late 2026, they will build a dedicated test roadway at another Taisei facility in Tamura, where they will run long-term durability trials, charging performance tests, and work on limiting electromagnetic field leakage, an important safety consideration for drivers and pedestrians.

The biggest milestone comes in fiscal year 2027, beginning in April, when the technology will be tested on public roads as part of the Tateyama Project, a demonstration led by East Nippon Expressway Company (NEXCO East) on the Tateyama Expressway in Chiba Prefecture. Later phases will focus on verifying reliability at higher power levels and higher speeds.

Honda will show the technology to industry audiences at the Japan Mobility Show Bizweek, running October 13 to 16 at Makuhari Messe, and at the ITS World Congress in Gangneung, South Korea, from October 19 to 23.

Not the Only Player

Honda is not alone in chasing this idea. Ford has been running a wireless charging pilot on a road near its Michigan Central campus in Detroit, and several countries in Europe and Asia have trialed electrified road segments in recent years. What sets Honda’s effort apart is its focus on retrofitting existing pavement and its target power level for heavy vehicles.

Still, significant hurdles remain. Installing charging units under long stretches of highway is expensive, vehicles need dedicated receivers, and questions about who pays for the infrastructure and how drivers are billed have yet to be answered.

Why It Matters

If dynamic wireless charging proves reliable and affordable, it could reshape how electric vehicles are designed. Cars and trucks that can top up on the highway would not need enormous, heavy, and expensive batteries to cover long distances. For now, the technology is in its testing phase, but with public-road trials less than six months away, Honda’s road-charging dream is moving from the lab to the real world.