INDOT and Purdue University have announced plans to develop the world’s first contactless wireless-charging concrete pavement highway segment.

The project will use innovative magnetizable concrete – developed by a German start-up that enables wireless charging of electric vehicles as they drive.

Phases 1 and 2 of the project involves pavement testing, analysis, and research at Purdue’s West Lafayette campus.

In phase 3, INDOT will construct a quarter-mile-long testbed, where engineers will test the innovative concrete’s capacity to charge heavy trucks operation at high power.

Once all three phases of testing are complete and successful, INDOT will use the new technology to electrify a segment of interstate highway within Indiana.

The project expected to begin later this summer.