The technology is also still being invested in very heavily, and continues to be developed by companies such as InductEVs and Magment GmbH, although the focus is very much more on commercial use rather than retail. Munich-based Magment even claims to be working on the holy grail of charging solutions – dynamic wireless charging.
The company states that “Dynamic charging is the future solution for charging electric vehicles, where devices installed in highway pavements will deliver electrical energy to battery electric vehicles on the road using a magnetic field. An antenna mounted to the vehicle bottom passes through the magnetic field generating an electrical current that charges the batteries. Magment and Heritage Environmental Technologies LLC have joined to develop a magnetizable asphalt mixture that can be used for the dynamic transmission of wireless power.”
It is claimed that the venture will be able to offer this technology for use in the USA this year, and the same joint venture is also working to offer wireless charging in China.
Other benefits
Ultimately, wireless car charging offers undeniable benefits, not just in terms of the convenience, but it could also make electric car charging more accessible for any EV driver with disabilities or restricted mobility. More than that, induction charging could be a solution for those roads where off-street parking isn’t possible and kerbside charging is restricted or would be obstructive.
Commercial uses seem to be the natural starting place; being able to wirelessly charge a bus while it’s parked at the bus station, or to rapid charge a lorry while it’s in a loading bay or rest stop, has big advantages over having to tether the vehicle to a charging station.
“I am confident that wireless charging will be made available for use in certain static applications,” says Dr Harper, “especially around public transport infrastructure.
“I think that ‘dynamic’ wireless charging, where you charge as you drive along, is likely to be much further off, if at all, in the UK. The challenges with deploying this in any meaningful way are not insignificant.”
So, wireless charging ever be ‘a thing’? Well, it seems highly likely to feature in certain static industrial uses sooner rather than later. But as for wirelessly charging your car on the street or at home – or, indeed, charging as you drive along? It could be a very long wait.
