Purdue University and the Indiana Department of Transportation are creating a roadway capable of wirelessly charging electric vehicles, including Class 8 trucks, traveling at highway speeds. Researchers say that could lead to smaller batteries and lower barriers to electric fleets.

A quarter-mile roadway is being outfitted with the technology on U.S. Highway 231 in West Lafayette. If successful, the research has the potential to lower the cost of an electric truck, experts told FreightWaves. The patent-pending project is touted as the world’s first highway test bed for wireless charging and has the potential to transform electric vehicle charging.

Electric vehicle range and costs are hurdles to widespread adoption of the technology, said researcher Steven Pekarek, Purdue’s Edmund O. Schweitzer III professor of electrical and computer engineering, who is involved in the project. This research could address both hurdles by maintaining a truck’s charge while it drives, leading to smaller batteries and a lower cost. The researcher compared the technology to wirelessly charging a cellphone.

“This is the only possible solution that I’ve ever heard that could come close to working for the people I represent,” said Gary Langston, Indiana Motor Truck Association president and CEO. “It’s not that we don’t want to do it. If someone came up with a viable solution that we could afford, we’re not pushing back on that.”

Read more: FreightWaves