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It sounds tempting to charge the electric car without contact while driving, instead of waiting for a long time at the charging station. So-called inductive charging will also have other positive effects: On the one hand, batteries in electric cars can be made up to 70 percent more compact. On the other hand, the electricity grid will be less burdened as most users will no longer charge their cars after work and at night. This is the result of a study by the Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden. “If you charge electric cars more evenly throughout the day, the peak load is significantly reduced,” explains Sten Karlsson, one of the study’s authors. This saves costs and raw materials, and at the same time, the fear of range is a thing of the past.
Only the main European and national traffic roads will need to be equipped with wireless charging technology, according to the study, based on data and driving habits from more than 400 vehicles and their owners. “Technically, the inductive charging of e-cars is no longer science fiction – at least when the vehicle is stationary. Performances of up to 200 kilowatts (kW) on buses are already being tested in Germany, explains automotive expert Philipp Seidel, under the strategy consultancy of Arthur D. Little.
Construction takes decades
And projects with electrified roads, such as Israeli start-up Electreon’s Electric Road System ERS, are already under construction in many countries such as France, Israel and Sweden. Thanks to ERS in Bavaria, contactless charging will be possible on a one kilometer test track from 2025. Costs for the episode: almost eight million francs. Due to the large investments currently underway, only one lane is planned for most projects. But other factors can also stand in the way of success. “It takes decades to build a nationwide supply,” says Philipp Seidel skeptically. Considering how difficult it is for a country like Germany to build a dense enough infrastructure with conventional charging stations, you can imagine what it all would be like if you wanted to electrify a large area of roads.
Still, industry giants like Stellantis are also exploring the technology. At a test site in northern Italy, experts have electrified a kilometer of road and are testing inductive charging with a Fiat 500e and an Iveco e-truck. Technology will be a boon, especially for the logistics industry. Technicians rely on direct current (DC) with no conversion losses and aluminum loops, which are cheaper than copper cables and which, in their own words, reach charging capacities of up to 70 kW. This would be a real milestone: the inductive charging systems developed so far only allow a small margin of distance from the charging coil to the receiver. Even with static devices, very precise alignment was required until now – at speeds in excess of 100 km/h the challenge for engineers is therefore even greater.
Too expensive, too inefficient
“I don’t think the idea of charging e-cars while driving is very effective. Only a few prototypes have been field tested so far. “And these are already revealing serious weaknesses,” explains Andreas Radics, Managing Director of the Berylls consulting firm. “Then there is efficiency: in field tests. around 85 percent. It’s too low to talk about an efficient charging technology.”
Expert Seidel agrees, adding: “E-car manufacturers and suppliers have been struggling for years to bring efficient inductive charging solutions for stationary charging to market in attractive conditions.” Audi announced such a system for the plug-in version of the E-Tron and A8 in 2017, but reburied the project in 2019: too expensive and too little customer demand. BMW has even offered a baseplate for inductive charging for private customers for the new 530e from 2018 – the solution is no longer available today.
The problem with the norm
And even if the technology is efficient enough and road construction costs are affordable, more problems will arise: vehicles will have to carry additional technology and equipment, such as metal rings. In addition to technical challenges such as space-saving placement in the lower body, this makes vehicles more expensive, which consumes the financial advantage of smaller batteries. In addition, there is the standard issue, that is, the compatibility of the respective solutions. If this form of inductive charging works for all car brands in Europe, the technology can only have a future.
The search for an EU-standard mobile phone charging cable has already shown how difficult this is to implement. And that’s technically insignificant compared to large-area inductive charging loops. Andreas Radics sums it up: “In my view, fast-charging e-vehicles and high-power chargers along major roads are the faster and more cost-effective solution to make e-mobility truly viable for long-distance journeys.”
Source: Blick
I’m Ella Sammie, author specializing in the Technology sector. I have been writing for 24 Instatnt News since 2020, and am passionate about staying up to date with the latest developments in this ever-changing industry.
