Volvo Car Group has been participating in a research project to investigate inductive charging for electric vehicles; it reports that the technology has a promising future.
The system uses a magnetic field instead of a cable to transfer energy between two objects; it is already in use in household appliances such as electric toothbrushes. To charge electric vehicles a coil of wire would be located under the road surface; passing an alternating current through the coil generates a magnetic field, which, in turn, induces an electric current in a similar coil installed in the underside of a car or bus. It is less efficient than plugging in a cable but might increase customer acceptance of battery powered vehicles.
Volvo Car Group was part of a consortium of companies including Bombardier Transportation and coach manufacturer Van Hool researching inductive charging. Flanders' Drive, a knowledge centre of the automotive industry, initiated the project with part of the funding coming from the Flanders government. A Volvo C30 Electric was supplied to test the system, with a full charge taking approximately two and a half hours.
Anything else?
Lennart Stegland, Vice President, Electric Propulsion System at Volvo Car Group, commented, "Inductive charging has great potential. Cordless technology is a comfortable and effective way to conveniently transfer energy. The study also indicates that it is safe".
Stegland added, "There is not yet any common standard for inductive charging. We will continue our research and evaluate the feasibility of the technology in our hybrid and electric car projects."