Wireless charging for electric vehicles: Navigating environmental trade-offs and infrastructure barriers towards sustainable transportation

Electric vehicles have emerged as a fundamental technology in addressing global environmental challenges and reducing transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions. Wireless charging systems represent a transformative approach to electric vehicle charging infrastructure, offering enhanced user convenience and enabling dynamic energy transfer during vehicle motion. However, the extent to which the operational advantages of wireless charging justify its manufacturing burdens and infrastructure demands remains unresolved, while regulatory frameworks lag behind technological development. This assessment integrates technological, environmental, economic, and policy dimensions of wireless electric vehicle charging to determine the conditions under which wireless systems contribute positively to sustainable transportation. The analysis reveals that wireless charging manufacturing carries a higher carbon footprint than conventional plug-in systems, requiring ten to fifteen years of low-carbon operation to achieve net emissions equivalence. Infrastructure requirements for dynamic charging present substantial economic barriers, though static wireless systems for commercial fleets demonstrate favorable returns. Policy fragmentation across major economies imposes compliance costs and delays market entry. An integrated policy framework is proposed, incorporating infrastructure bond securitization, dynamic right-of-way leasing, renewable energy co-location mandates, insurance premium incentives, and open-source patent pools. Five research priorities are identified with measurable targets addressing misalignment tolerance, power density, electromagnetic field containment, material circularity, and bidirectional grid integration. Future work should focus on validating these integrated approaches through large-scale demonstration projects across diverse urban environments. • A systematic lifecycle assessment is conducted to evaluate environmental trade-offs between wireless and plug-in electric vehicle charging systems. • The analysis reveals that wireless charging manufacturing carries a higher carbon debt, which is only offset during operational phases with renewable energy integration. • Critical infrastructure barriers are identified, including high capital costs, urban spatial constraints, and grid capacity limitations that impede widespread deployment. • An integrated policy framework is proposed, featuring innovative financing mechanisms such as infrastructure bond securitization and dynamic right-of-way leasing. • Actionable research priorities are defined with measurable performance, safety, and circularity targets to guide future technological development.