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EV wireless charging on the horizon

By David Zalstein |
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Wireless charging mats for electric vehicles are being developed to eliminate cords and reduce EV-buyer anxiety.

Automotive News reports the charging mats are designed to sit on the floor and be plugged into a power source while coils located on the underside of the car allow wireless engagement of the charger to charge the battery while the vehicle is parked.

This means that while the mats are plugged in the car is free of any leads. IHS Automotive powertrain research analyst Phil Gott told Automotive News, “The feedback we see from initial Volt and Leaf buyers is that, ‘Gee, these cords get really dirty; gee, these cords get all tangled; what a pain in the neck.’ A wireless charger truly gives you total freedom.”

Delphi EV Wireless Charging

While companies like Tesla have been focusing on a plug-in “supercharger” that can re-charge one of its cars in less than an hour in a bid to alleviate consumer hesitation towards EVs, Nissan, Audi, Toyota, and Mitsubishi are among a number of other companies keen to develop wireless chargers.

General Motors has already invested $5 million into a private company called ‘Powermat’, technology the company says it’s only using to charge smartphones and other devices wirelessly from within the car.

Delphi Wireless Charging System — Eco Cars

 

Director of hybrid electric vehicle business and technology development at Delphi Automotive, Randy Sumner, told Automotive News the charge mat arrangement, developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), could send 3kW of electricity quickly enough to see a battery recharged in about four hours.

Automakers and suppliers expect the wireless charging technology to be ready for sale around 2015.

  • Smart US

    so they place this strategically  on the road – and you get your car charged while driving… whats the Rego gonna be like?

    • Ben

      umm.. no. They don’t place them in the road. 

      • Gus

        south korea have been trailing in-road inductive charging for years now. its all soon to be dead technology anyway with the discovery of the higgs boson particle. we should be worm-hole-ing our way around the world anyway in the near future

  • Captain Nemo

    So if i have a charging mat in my garage & my half blind 18yo cat decides to  take a pee thinking its her kitty litter tray. Will she be electrocuted? or just become the Eveready cat? 

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Karl-Sass/100000921334936 Karl Sass

      Only one way to find out lol

    • Gus

      this isnt new technology, most wireless kettles, toothbrushes, shavers use this technology already.

      • Richo

        No they don’t!  The charging point for wireless kettles etc rely on a charging pad that allows for protected direct wire-to-wire connections.  It’s really no different to plugging into a wall socket.

        What I understand is proposed here is truly wireless inductive charging with no physical contact whatsoever.  An inductive electric cooking range is much closer to the proposed technology.  Hope you don’t have a pacemaker!

        • John

          just google powermat… this is pretty much the same, just sized up for a car. 

  • F1

    So what difference does this make from me just plugging a power cord into the vehicle?

    This does not solve the inherent problems of EVs

    Same problem as why EVs failed in the 70′s & 80′s

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Karl-Sass/100000921334936 Karl Sass

    “At 90% efficient from AC to the vehicle battery” wow really? I find that a bit hard to believe, but it’s fantastic if it’s true.

  • Guest

    I believe it relies on magnetic fields to generate electricity to charge up the battery. Just like a generator except without moving magnets.

    Just make sure you don’t have anything that is sensitive to magnetic fields while charging…eg pacemaker?

    • Ben

      Surely you mean a pacemaker and you fall asleep directly on the mat or with the tight magnetic field.. Neither of which is likely, unless you are stupid enough to climb under the car while it is parked over the charging mat and it is charging and you have a pacemaker.

  • Laurie

    Don’t think it will work too well if the car part is coated with dirt/mud after rain or a trip to the country 

  • Jerrycan

    The technology will work but I thought the main disadvantage is that it is less efficient than directly plugging in. Not much maybe 5% loss but not something we can really afford.
    Just another sop to lazy (American) car drivers.

  • kf

    they should position the pads so that it’ll only charge if the car is reverse parked….(if they ever put them in public carparks) sick of people who takes an hour just to get out of a parking spot