Motorists will be able to recharge their cars as they drive if a scheme being proposed by Highways England comes to fruition.

The government agency has announced plans to test wireless power-transfer tech that it hopes to build under the country’s motorways and major A roads. It has already completed a feasibility study and is now asking companies to tender bids to host off-road trials.

But one expert questioned whether such a scheme would be cost effective.Electric cables buried under the road are used to generate electromagnetic fields, which are picked up by a coil inside the device and converted into electricity.

Last year, Milton Keynes also began use of a more limited scheme, which involves buses being wirelessly recharged via plates installed into road. In this case, however, the vehicles have to stop for several minutes at a time to receive the power boost.