WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Researchers with Purdue University and INDOT have successfully charged an electric heavy-duty truck at highway speeds. This is the first time in the U.S that a roadway has wirelessly charged a truck. “The first time that we stood along the road and watched that semi tractor racing at 65 miles per hour pulling power from the pavement was pretty phenomenal,” said John Haddock, a researcher with Purdue University. He, along with his team are thinking towards the future and how this can impact truck drivers. A team of Purdue University professors stands in front of an electric heavy-duty truck they equipped to receive power while driving across a system they designed within a quarter-mile highway segment. Pictured from left to right: Dionysios Aliprantis, Aaron Brovont, Nadia Gkritza, Steve Pekarek and John Haddock. ( Purdue University/Kelsey Lefever ) A quarter-mile stretch on US 52 between Cumberland Avenue and Lindberg Road, crews dug up patches of concrete and placed coils underneath the pavement. When driven over, the coils send power to the receiver coils underneath the truck. The system is designed to work similarly to how your smartphone connects to a wireless charging pad. “On the road, our system does the same thing, only it has to get the power across a wired gap,” said Haddock. “It’s buried about 2 to 2 and a half inches in the pavement.” In this test segment, trucks driving 65 miles per hour can receive close to 190 kilowatts… which is a lot of power. The Indiana Department of Transportation embedded these Purdue-designed coils before covering them with concrete highway pavement. The coils transmit power to receiver coils attached to the underside of an electric heavy-duty truck. ( Purdue University/Kelsey Lefever ) “It’s only the trucks that need that much power, because they’re so heavy,” said Haddock. “The heavier the vehicle, the more it would take to work.” The partnership and idea started back in 2018, when INDOT and Purdue researchers teamed up. “It’s been something that’s generated positive results and we’ve been able to test this now and have those good results come back,” said Blake Dollier, public relations director for INDOT West Central. “We’ve been really proud of the work that we’ve been able to accomplish together.” With their testing, they believe this could lower costs for heavy-duty electric trucks, which would prompt other countries and states to incorporate this technology. That could be the standard moving forward, which Dollier said would be great coming from Indiana. “We pride ourselves on being the crossroads of America, so of course there is a high bar that’s set there,” said Dollier. “Ultimately, we just want to live up to that standard, and this is one of many ways that we hope to be able to do that throughout West Central Indiana and maybe somewhere else here in the future.” Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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