Germany’s first wireless charging bus route powers a greener future
In Balingen, the city’s first electric bus glides through town powered by Electreon’s wireless technology embedded in Germany’s first public Electric Road System. Running daily and blending seamlessly into traffic, it has crowned Balingen the “wireless charging city”—a living model of innovation.
The project is part of ELINA, a consortium of research institutes and infrastructure partners testing wireless in-road charging for buses under real-world conditions. It builds on a successful project, where Electreon’s wireless road powered an e-shuttle to EnBW’s training center at Karlsruhe port. These milestones are now joined by the EMPOWER project—Germany’s first wireless highway on the Autobahn—making Balingen a key reference for scaling dynamic inductive charging nationwide.
The ELINA project deployed Electreon’s dynamic in-road charging plus stationary wireless stations at key points along the route. The result? No charging downtime, no standby buses, and more space for smarter urban planning — with cleaner air, quieter streets, less noise, and lower CO₂ as part of the package.
The bus runs with 90% stationary charging efficiency, adding over 2 km of range each day. With energy-smart opportunity charging, it sometimes even ends the day with more power than it began. It’s a win for the town, putting it in line for future national and EU green tech funding.
Public response has been glowing, with Balingen gaining global attention as a showcase city. Next up is monetization—a certified metering and billing framework under Germany’s metrology laws. Fleet operators and car sharers will pay per use, while cities charge for access, turning wireless roads into revenue-ready assets.
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