Imagine driving an electric car that recharges its batteries as it's being driven along the road.
It may seem a distant dream but as Dan Simmons reports, the technology that allows electric toothbrushes to charge without wires is being developed to provide power for a whole range of devices.
The Swedish manufacturer is working with Belgian technology firm Flanders' Drive to develop technology that would allow electric vehicles to be charged without the need for cables or power sockets and the battery is refilled wirelessly via charging plate in the road surface. As soon as drivers pull into their garage or parking spot, a charging plate that’s embedded in the ground can start the process and the system is based on inductive charging, the same process that provides juice to your electric toothbrush, a magnetic field transfers power to the car............
Volvo will begin testing wireless charging technology on its Volvo C30 Electric that will let drivers recharge the battery without touching a cable or dirtying their hands. The current C30 Electric that will begin customer testing in Europe later this year uses a cable to plug into the car’s grille via a specially designed charge connector. In a new partnership agreement, Belgium’s state-owned Flanders’ Drive will modify a Volvo C30 Electric so a 20kWh battery can be recharged wirelessly using induction charging. With inductive charging, a magnetic field is created between a charging plate on the ground and the vehicle’s inductive pick-up, which transfers electricity from the energy source to the battery. The car’s built-in voltage converter converts the alternating current to direct current, which is fed into the car’s battery pack. Using this method, a fully drained 24kWh battery will take an hour and 20 minutes to fully recharge, according to Volvo. In the current C30 Electric, the 24kWh lithium ion battery pack can be recharged in 6-8 hours using a 230-volt outlet. Toyota recently began working with Massachusetts-based WiTricity on a similar test project that could eventually wirelessly charge the Prius. In March, Google received a Plugless Power wireless charging station developed by Virginia-based Evertran for its fleet of EVs. The Plugless Power can wirelessly recharge electric vehicles outfitted with model-specific adapters mounted to the car. The inductive charging technology is about 10 percent less efficient than delivering power using cords. “One aspect of this project is to integrate this technology into the road surface and to take energy directly from there to power the car,” says Johan Konnberg, project manager for Volvo. But it won’t be any time soon, he adds.
We’ve seen mats that allow you to charge your gadgets cordlessly just by placing them down (Chevy actually just unveiled the one that is going to be in all of their new Volts), but how about something a little bit larger – like a whole car? Well, that’s exactly what Fulton Innovation‘s eCoupled technology does. Showcased at CES this week, the induction charger can re-juice your electric vehicle with no unruly wires necessary – all you have to do is park it.
Fulton’s eCoupled wireless charging tech was originally created for smaller electronics, and they say that this is the first time it’s been able to wirelessly charge a “high-powered device.” The company demonstrated the new technology, dubbed the PowerSpot, by powering up a shiny, red Tesla Roadster. The “spot” appears as a blue halo on the floor of your garage, and you can engage the accompanying adapter fitted to the underbody of your electric vehicle as long as you park it about 4″ (in the case of the Tesla) over the induction pad.
You won’t be able to buy it just yet, but the technology seems promising and Fulton is looking to make its system the go-to wireless kit.
Via Jalopnik
Stanford University researchers have created a wireless way to charge your electric vehicles as you drive so EVs will never run out of juice halfway through a road trip.
Following Stanford University’s recent testing on Honda’s Fit electric vehicles, researchers at the university are now developing a new wireless system that will magnetically charge your EVs while you are driving.
The idea came after researchers recognized the disadvantages of electric vehicles’ limited driving ranges which may use less energy but run at a weaker strength. For example, the Nissan Leaf is only capable of driving less than 100 miles on a single full charge. To fully recharge the Leaf’s battery, users will have to wait approximately 10 hours and cannot bet on charging stations to be around on long trips. These drawbacks with EVs have not been addressed to date, discouraging the general market from making the move from traditional cars.
To combat this problem, Stanford researchers have created a “charge-as-you-drive” network which utilizes copper coils that will be embedded in highway roads and under the belly of the EVs. The coils will be tuned to the same natural frequency and as the car moves, a process called “magnetic resonance coupling” occurs, meaning when the road coils that are connected to an electric current power up, they send electricity to the receiving coil in the car and thus charging the EV’s battery.
“What makes this concept exciting is that you could potentially drive for an unlimited amount of time without having to recharge,” said Richard Sassoon, the managing director of the Stanford Global Climate and Energy Project (GCEP), which funded the research. “You could actually have more energy stored in your battery at the end of your trip than you started with.”
It could be years before we see these electromagnetic roads implemented into our daily lives as researchers continue to ensure this process will not harm drivers, passengers, or affect the computer systems that control steering, navigation, and air conditioning. It is also imperative for researchers to confirm mobile phones, credit cards and other electronic gadgets will not be thrown off by this proposed flow of magnetic currents.
Another issue researchers may face with electric vehicles is the combustion emissions EVs produce when electricity is generated. A recent study at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville found that EVs in China may leave an even larger carbon footprint than gasoline-powered cars because 85 percent of electricity production in the country comes from fossil fuels, with about 90 percent of that from coal. In the United States, coal accounts for an average of approximately 46 percent of electricity production across the 50 states. Additionally, battery-making factories also largely contribute to pollution due to the chemicals involved in the process. So when you add this with the fact that you’ll deplete natural resources each time you have to recharge an EV every other 100 miles, and compare it to burning up gasoline in a conventional car, the result may end up just as harmful as each other.
Though electric vehicles and their charging systems are not perfect, with new developments underway, the technology could still be a safer bet toward a greener future.
Wireless Charging Technology From Ecoupled
At CES eCoupled presented a magnetic induction system to charge everything from laptops to electric vehicles without physical contact. The technology currently has 98 percent efficiency.
Yes, it is possible with WiT-2000 kit, a latest product from WiTricity Corp which is introducing wireless electricity technology that is safe and capable of transferring energy over distance, which ranges from centimeters to more than a few meters and delivers power which ranges from milliwatts to kilowatts.
With WiT-2000 kit, mobile phones, video game controllers, laptops, electric vehicles can recharge themselves. Also, flat television and digital image frames don’t require wires or power plug to charge.
WiTricity Technology uses specially designed magnetic resonators which transfer efficient power over distances using the magnetic near-field. These special devices provide strong pairing between the devices which in turn enables efficient power transfer. Its ability to charge without requiring specific placing and proximity makes it more flexible to use.
The kit includes
- Two wireless energy sources which include power amplifier and Resonator pad
- Two energy capture modules which include power converter and Capture Resonator
- LED light using wireless power
- Two Resonant Repeaters
- A constant DC power supply
- An instruction manual which enables users to enjoy wireless electricity transfer
The kit can be used
- For wire-free charging
- Direct powering of devices without batteries
- To give the same efficiency when hidden as well
- To transfer efficient energy through certain materials like wood, plastic, glass, concrete, fabric, wall board, water, oil, even human or animal tissue too
The distance of energy transfer is extendable with help of WiTricity High-Q resonant repeaters which can be placed inside furniture, in several unit configurations, and in building materials like carpeting, tiles, and wall panels.
So, try this surprising kit to get rid of the chargers and wires which are complex in structure and unsafe too; and feel safe, comfort and risk-free with the user-friendly design which enables charging of multiple devices at the same time yet at a minimum cost.
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