Cabinet minister Oliver Letwin recently announced that the country is set to undergo a major transport overhaul as the government seeks to cement Britain's place as a leader in the ongoing electric revolution.

In what has been described as a "Scalextric-style" road network, the nationwide system would allow electric vehicle drivers to charge as they drive.

Restricted mileage has been one of the main criticism of electric-vehicles so far, with even some of the best hybrid vehicles struggling to reach 30 miles on a single charge, so if vehicles were able to recharge on the move it could reduce one of the main barriers to widespread adoption.

External Forces

The government is serious about making this a reality, and has already committed 500 million pounds over the next five years to keep Britain at the forefront of this technology. China has also been helping fueling a boom in electric vehicles thanks to new government subsidies.

Experts note that if adoption becomes commonplace in the country it would automatically lower prices and have a favorable ripple effect across the rest of the world. This scheme will also help to reduce the level of carbon and NOx emissions in the environment, which have the potential to cause smog and acid rain.

Upcoming Plans

Letwin maintained that the new measures would be taken by the end of 2020, with certain parts of the country already operating a trial run of the technology.

First announced in August of last year, these tests were the first of their kind and were designed to allow drivers of ultra-low emission vehicles to travel long distances along the country's motorways and major A roads without needing to stop and charge the car's battery.

Letwin also made mention of autonomous, also known as self-driving, vehicles which, in theory, would need less road compared to driven vehicles. This could help to drastically reduce the level of congestion and the number of accidents on the road.

Alternate Solutions

The trial run will involve fitting vehicles with wireless technology and testing the equipment, to be installed underneath the road, to better replicate motorway conditions. This is expected to last for approximately 18 months and could be followed by on road trials providing the results are positive.

As well as experimenting with the technology to wirelessly power ultra-low emission vehicles, Highways England has also committed to installing plug-in charging points every 20 miles on the motorway network as part of the government's Road Investment Strategy. This could also play a major part in whether or electric vehicle usage take off in the country