High tech highways of the future

Developed by internationally renowned battery expert and innovator Will Jones, TEV is a network of specially designed highway ‘tracks’ that provide direct power to EVs as they travel under automated control. This means EVs, robo-taxis, public transport and light freight vehicles will have the ability to travel unlimited miles along the track under continuous power. A sophisticated computer will take over control of the vehicles as they enter the track, enabling close convoying and high speeds of travel, reducing congestion and travel times while dramatically cutting the risk of accidents.

TEV public service vehicles have no drivers and circulate around the track as cabs or minibuses. Other vehicles, including private ‘dualmode’ cars, enter and leave the track from conventional roads. Vehicles are automatically checked for roadworthiness before being admitted into the TEV network. TEV is an open-source transport project, open to international collaboration in order to advance the project into a construction phase.

Unveiling the animation, Caroline Jones Carrick, Project Co-ordinator, The TEV Project, said: “Our animation clearly shows how easily TEV tracks can integrate with pre-existing roads with benefits to motorists, to the environment and to local communities. It demonstrates the simple and practical conversion of the two fast lanes of a six lane motorway into two lanes of TEV track. Since each of TEV’s high speeds tracks can carry the equivalent of 10 lanes of motorway traffic, the road capacity is not reduced but rather dramatically increased. TEV is a very practical transport solution that could future-proof transportation for decades to come. The future of sustainable and accessible transport lies with large infrastructure projects which can revolutionise the way we travel for the better. By collaborating with private and public organisations, we believe that the TEV Project can make this happen.”

The TEV Project has been invited by the United States Department of Transportation to present at Federal Highway Administration’s Exploratory Advanced Research (EAR) Program workshop in December 2014. The two day workshop forms the second phase of a request for information to the EAR Program, which is surveying individuals or organisations conducting relevant research and development into Novel Surface Transportation Systems.