Drivers of electric vehicles (EVs) could soon be set to benefit from the ease and convenience of wireless electric vehicle charging, according to scientists in Switzerland who have demonstrated the technology in a real-world trial.
The research team working on the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa) INLADE project in Dübendorf tested the wireless inductive charging method “in everyday use,” including in snowy, rainy, and cold weather, and allowing for human errors. Mathias Huber, from the Empa’s Chemical Energy Carriers and Vehicle Systems lab, said the trial aimed to “clarify technical and regulatory issues and demonstrate its potential for the energy transition.”
With no cables, connectors, or fuss, the system removes the need for drivers to plug their vehicles in, instead using a charging plate in the ground, over which drivers must manoeuvre their coil-fitted vehicle. Although it requires precise positioning, a display helps drivers get their car in the right spot, and future plans include an assisted piloting function.
When the vehicle is correctly in place, an automatic safety check of the surroundings is carried out before charging commences. The coil fitted in the vehicle receives energy from the magnetic field produced by another transmitter coil in the base plate.
The tests proved that the “magnetic field generated during inductive charging did not interfere with other devices inside or outside the vehicle, or with people,” Huber confirmed. The success means the fleet of retrofitted test vehicles is now approved for road use, putting them among the first ever EVs in the world to run on inductive charging.
Currently, the technology achieves a charging efficiency of around 90%, which is comparable to plug-in systems, and beats similar efforts such as Elon Musk’s promised Robotaxi “supercharger,” which Tesla owners have complained only reaches 20%, according to Tesla accessory manufacturer, TPARTS.
Huber said the Swiss method “works very reliably” and offers “the big advantage of an inductive system” where “vehicles are connected to the grid much more frequently without the need for any active intervention – a plus for both convenience and the energy transition.”
The results of the collaboration between energy supplier Eniwa and the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) could be a game-changer not only for drivers but for the power grid as a whole, Huber explained, by effectively turning electric cars into mobile energy storage units with bidirectional charging capability for the 23 hours a day on average that they are parked.
