Volvo rolls out wireless car chargers
Game-changing car charging technology undergoes real-world testing in SwedenCharging your smartphone, earbuds and electronic devices wirelessly is commonplace today, so what’s stopping cars from being charged wirelessly?
Money and desire, which are two things Volvo appears to have in ample supply, and the Swedish car-maker has just announced it is testing wireless car chargers – with a power transfer of more 40kW – in Gothenburg.
Volvo says the trial will run for three years with a small fleet of full-electric Volvo XC40 Recharge models, used by taxi company Cabonline, to determine if a large-scale rollout of the technology is feasible.
Most EV and plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) users have to park their car, get out, plug it in, then authorise the charging process before the electrons start to flow, but the wireless charging infrastructure would streamline the procedure.
The wireless charging technology works just like a smartphone wireless charge pad, utilising electromagnetic induction to transfer energy from a charger – in this case embedded in the road or a car park – to a receiver underneath the vehicle.
The end game is simple: no cables, no plug compatibility issues, no reason to get out of the vehicle.
As we’ve reported, US-based tech company WiTricity is planning to roll out wireless vehicle charging in 2023 with an 11kW system.
Hyundai is also understood to be developing wireless vehicle charging systems, while Renault has trialled the technology too.
In the Swedish trial, Cabonline will run the electric Volvo XC40 small SUVs for around 12 hours a day, hitting around 100,000km per year.
Volvo insists the trial “also makes this the first durability test of fully-electric Volvo cars in a commercial usage scenario”.
The charging stations are supplied by Momentum Dynamics and feature hardware and software that automatically begins charging a compatible vehicle when it parks over a charge pad.
Energy is blasted to a receiver unit in the car, and Volvo reckons drivers will be able to easily align the car over charge pads via 360-degree camera system.
Wireless charging power will be more than 40kW insists Volvo, offering similar battery top-up times as a wired 50kW DC fast-charger.
The project is one of many located with Gothenburg’s ‘Green City Zone’, a region which has been set up to foster the development of sustainable technologies and deliver zero-emissions transport by 2030.
“Gothenburg Green City Zone lets us try exciting new technologies in a real environment and evaluate them over time for a potential future broader introduction,” said Volvo Cars head of research and development, Mats Moberg.
“Testing new charging technologies together with selected partners is a good way to evaluate alternative charging options for our future cars.”
Volvo has already stopped building combustion engines in Europe ahead of plans to ditch them completely before 2030 and become a Tesla-like EV-only car-maker.
Related: Volvo dumps combustion engines
Related: Volvo to be Australia’s first fully electrified auto brand
Related: Public wireless EV charging ramps up
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