UK To Test Wireless Charging For Electric Cars

[ETRJ]

New technology is being tested by Highways England that could allow electric car owners to charge as they drive.

The trials are the first of their kind and will test how the technology would work on the country's motorways and major A roads, allowing drivers of ultra-low emission vehicles to travel long distances without needing to stop and charge the car's battery.

Electric and hybrid car sales are on the rise in Britain with a total of 9,046 ultra-low emission vehicles registered in the first quarter of 2015 - a rise of 366% from the same period in 2014.

The Government hopes that the new technology could entice more drivers who may be put off by the current distribution of charging points.

Off-road trials of the Dynamic Wireless Power Transfer technology will begin later this year after a procurement process.

The trials will involve fitting vehicles with wireless technology and testing the equipment, installed underneath the road, to replicate motorway conditions.

Transport Minister Andrew Jones said: "The potential to recharge low emission vehicles on the move offers exciting possibilities.

"The Government is already committing £500m over the next five years to keep Britain at the forefront of this technology, which will help boost jobs and growth in the sector.

"As this study shows, we continue to explore options on how to improve journeys and make low-emission vehicles accessible to families and businesses."

The trials are expected to last for approximately 18 months and, subject to the results, could be followed by road trials.

As well as investigating the potential of wireless power, Highways England also says it's committed in the longer-term to installing plug-in charging points every 20 miles on the motorway network as part of the Government's Road Investment Strategy.

The UK Government has committed itself to reducing CO2 emissions by 80% by 2050.

In 2013, 25% of UK CO2 emissions were from transport, so there is a drive to increase the use of Low Carbon Vehicles.

Soucre: http://news.sky.com/story/1534209/uk-to-test-wireless-charging-for-electric-cars

[werto165]

Cool idea, but do we really have the money to do it with even a few motorways, it's seems like it would be damn expensive for even 100m. Also isn't it really inefficient too? 

[daniellearmouth]

Cool idea, but do we really have the money to do it with even a few motorways, it's seems like it would be damn expensive for even 100m. Also isn't it really inefficient too? 

 

Yeah, that's kinda what I was thinking...

Wireless charging isn't exactly the most efficient means of charging a device of any kind. The contact points for this, though? It won't really work, because some cars will simply be too high up to be able to charge in that way.

[LucidMew]

I think they've already solved the problem of delivering power to a moving object

[werto165]

Yeah, that's kinda what I was thinking...

Wireless charging isn't exactly the most efficient means of charging a device of any kind. The contact points for this, though? It won't really work, because some cars will simply be too high up to be able to charge in that way.

By the time electric cars have become main stream the range is probably great and the charge times will be minimal, making this just pointless. 

[daniellearmouth]

By the time electric cars have become main stream the range is probably great and the charge times will be minimal, making this just pointless. 

 

Doing this makes about as much sense as having cars that can use KERS whilst on a motorway.

 

I'd just wait for battery technology to be better than it is right now.

[HarmFull]

Doing this makes about as much sense as having cars that can use KERS whilst on a motorway.

 

I wish we could have KERS, just for the sake of having it

 

As for rolling out this tech, there are a lot of real world problems.

 

- Cost

- Distribution

- Power loss

- Efficiency problems

- Business models

 

Pro's:

 

- Lighter cars, because you won't need batteries for range.

- No more waiting to charge.

[Trik'Stari]

I wonder if this could be a hazard to people with artificial pace makers. If I remember correctly, certain electronic devices can interfere with those.

[Real_PhillBert]

But the whole system would be a lot more efficient if we stuck to plugging cars in. 

 

I admit it has been a while since I looked at this stuff in college, but I though resonance inductive coupling was the only real option for any distance (a couple meters at most) and efficiency was in the 30-40% range. If the goal is really to reduce emissions we should stick to wired charging, or potentially some very close range inductive charging while it sits in your garage. 

[ofr057]

I think they've already solved the problem of delivering power to a moving object

lol, yeah thats what i was thinkin.

 

I think what needs to happen in the electric car market is hot swap battery's so you can go through something like a car wash and it automatically swaps your battery with a fully charged one.

 

plus you could more easily put a price on a service like that.

[iTalkTech376]

It sounds like an ok idea but as some people have said, the cost of doing this would be enormous and the UK doesn't really have the hugest amount of money in the world. But also think about all the delays in peoples days if they are traveling down the motorway, only recently the Highway's Agency has started work on a motorway near to where I live and are working to turn it into a 'Smart Motorway' which is to make travel times reduced and less congestion on motorways, now whilst they are doing this work which is reported to take at least 2 years to complete, people who are traveling on the motorway are experiencing delays and there is more congestion on the motorways. So if they did add this project onto the 'Smart Motorway' then it would cause more problems because the public do not like the delays and sometimes the wireless electric charging might not be what most people need because there is more petrol car's still on the roads than there are electric or hybrid cars.

[Dezz]

-snip-

The Government is already committing £500m over the next five years to keep Britain at the forefront of this technology, which will help boost jobs and growth in the sector.

 

Yes, their plan is to buy one tram for every household.