The share price of wireless vehicle charging technology company ElectReon Wireless Ltd. has shot up by nearly 22% on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange today on high volume, following the company's report of success in the static wireless charging trial of an electric truck on an experimental track in Sweden.
The aim of the trial was to complete full integration of the system on a heavy electric truck equipped with receivers developed by ElectReon, before operating the company's Dynamic Wireless Power Transfer (DWPT) system on a public smart road constructed in Gotland.
In May last year, ElectReon Wireless signed an agreement with the Swedish Transport Agency for a demonstration of its smart electric road technology on the island of Gotland. The company says that the system is now ready for the next stage, which is scheduled for next month: the dynamic charging of an electric-powered truck in Gotland.
For the trial, ElectReon set up an installation near Stockholm on land belonging to NCC, one of the largest infrastructure and construction companies in Sweden, and a partner of ElectReon in the demonstration project in Gotland. The project consists of a 1.6 kilometer stretch of electric road as part of a 4.1 kilometer route between the city of Visby and Visby Airport on Gotland. Initially, the road will charge electric buses and trucks. The project is estimated to cost NIS 45 million. The Swedish government is providing NIS 35 million, and the remainder is being financed by a consortium among the members of which are EiTech, a unit of international infrastructures company Vinci; RISE (Research Institutes of Sweden); and Israeli public transport company Dan Bus Company.
ElectReon, headed by co-founder and CEO Oren Ezer, has developed technology based on coils beneath the road surface that transfer energy wirelessly to vehicles travelling on the road. This enables electric vehicle range to be extended, makes vehicles lighter, since they only need small batteries, and saves charging time.
The company plans initial installation of its system on buses and trucks travelling on fixed routes, and later to extend it to private vehicles. Implementation of the system also depends on cooperation by regulators. ElectReon recently signed an agreement with the Tel Aviv municipality for a pilot project in which Dan Bus Company will operate a public bus route on a smart electric road.
ElectReon was founded in late 2013 by Ezer and co-founder and company CTO Hanan Rumbak, both formerly with Elbit Systems Ltd. (Nasdaq: ESLT; TASE: ESLT). In October 2017, the company was listed on the Tel Aviv Stock exchange through a merger into stock exchange shell company Biomedix Incubator Limited. Its market cap has since multiplied about 21 times, to about NIS 915 million. The company is currently controlled by Ezer, Rumbak, and Dan Bus Company (16.5%).
"The system works as planned and charges the truck battery wirelessly, and we are now gearing up to meet the next target in March, namely a first test journey for the truck on a public road in Gotland," Ezer said today. "We're excited at seeing the technology work outside of Israel, and also excited at the great interest that ElectReon's system is generating around the world. We are proud to see how our electric road technology is becoming part of the global electric transport revolution. We will shortly start deploying the infrastructure in Tel Aviv as well."
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