It is a familiar problem for many electric car users: how to enjoy driving without constantly talking about where your nearest charging station is.
But Israel believes it may find the solution, in the form of a coil system inspired by Nikola Tesla that levies tolls on vehicles while driving on the road.
Tel Aviv has begun a trial of electric-powered public buses that could start taking passengers as early as this January.
Although the project is at a very early stage, officials hope the future technology, which can be rolled out to private cars, will eventually replace conventional petrol and electric buses.
For the pilot scheme, the city has turned part of a bus route connecting the University Railway Station to the suburb of Ramat Aviv into an electric road, with plans for further expansion if the trial is successful.
Tel Aviv deputy chief executive Meital Lehavi said the “revolutionary” green energy scheme could one day lead to petrol stations not being turned into green spaces for the public.
“This move will help us improve the quality of life for locals and visitors by significantly reducing air and noise pollution,” she told the Telegraph.
The technology uses a coil system to transfer energy, which goes from diffusers placed under the road surface to batteries scraped on the buses.
Unlike a similar project in Sweden two years ago that used wires to connect the roads to the vehicles, this model allows energy to pass through the air.
It was developed by Israeli tech company ElectReon, which has held early talks about running a pilot scheme with Transport for London and recently installed electric roads in Sweden.
“It’s a very basic principle created a hundred years ago by Nikola Tesla, which distributes energy across the air,” said Oren Ezer, CEO and co-founder of Electron.
“It’s easy to use, as all you have to do is frame the bus to install a catcher and connect the battery. You don’t have to change anything, you can use an existing vehicle. “
He also said that the company has been able to install 400 yards of electric road in Tel Aviv overnight, and aims to install 2,100 yards of road per day.
Installing a 1000-yard stretch of electric roads costs around $ 600,000 (£ 450,000) but Mr Ezer said this was much cheaper than buying electric cars in the long run.
“If the pilot is successful, we will explore the possibility of extending the technology to other electric vehicles to help us reduce air pollution, [such as] shared taxi services, supply chain lorries and autonomous cars, ”said the deputy chief executive.
Electric vehicles are widely seen as a key tool against climate change, but some consumers have been put off by the need to frequently find cost stations to keep them going.