EVs to go wireless

DRIVERS of electric and hybrid vehicles one day will be able to recharge their cars wirelessly.

Just as the first plug-in EV charge points are rolled out in Australia, Delphi Automotive and wireless energy transfer technology provider WiTricity Corp have announced an agreement to develop automatic wireless charging products for plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles.

Delphi says the collaboration between the two companies will help establish a global infrastructure of safe and convenient charging options for consumer and commercial electric vehicles.

The Michigan-based global vehicle electronics giant says that if car-makers integrate wireless charging capability into the design of their hybrid and electric vehicles, the new technology could enable drivers to simply park their vehicles over a wireless energy source that sits on their garage floor or is embedded in a paved parking spot, before it automatically transfers power to the vehicle’s battery.

Randy Sumner, director of global hybrid vehicle development, Delphi Packard Electrical/Electronic Architecture said Delphi’s expertise in global engineering, validation and manufacturing coupled with WiTricity’s patented wireless energy transfer technology “uniquely positions us to make wireless charging of electric vehicles a reality”.

Mr Sumner said the wireless charging system would not involve the plugs or cords involved with charging all-electric vehicles such as Mitsubishi’s pioneering i-MiEV, which this year became the first mass-production EV on Australian roads and is expected to become available to the public here in mid-2011.

GM’s Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid, which has been confirmed for Australian release as a Holden in the first half of 2012, also will be compatible with the wireless charging system, along with the host all-electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles due on sale in Australia in coming years.

That includes Toyota’s Prius Plug-In, five of which are being tested in Australia as part of a global field trial prior to the release of the first plug-in Prius production car in Japan in 2012.

WiTricity chief executive Eric Giler said his company’s wireless system can already transfer more than 3300 Watts – enough to fully charge an EV at the same rate as most residential plug-in chargers.

“Charging an electric car should be as easy as parking it in your garage or parking spot,” he said. “WiTricity’s high-efficiency wireless energy transfer technology is ideally suited for electric vehicle charging and our partnership with Delphi will help to quickly get this technology deployed in OEM vehicles and infrastructure projects worldwide.”

WiTricity says its patented wireless energy transfer technology employs highly resonant magnetic coupling technology to efficiently transfer power over significantly larger distances – and allow more misalignment due to parking – than inductive systems.

“Delphi can bridge the gap between the laboratory and the highway by providing E/E systems integration expertise, a global manufacturing and engineering footprint and high-voltage, high-power components specifically engineered for the hybrid and electric vehicles of today and tomorrow,” Mr Sumner said.

He added that wireless charging technology would need to co-exist with plug-in charging solutions to allow EV drivers to charge their vehicle when they are away from their plug-in charging source.

In the US, Delphi already markets a portable EV charger that fits in the boot of an EV and plugs into any standard 120-volt outlet to enable EV battery charging anywhere.