Electric cars will soon charge as you drive
New test tracks are being developed with integrated charging technologies built into the roadway allowing electric cars to be charged without even stopping at a charging station.
Wireless technology and innovation company, Qualcomm has introduced a new road charging system that can charge a car while it's travelling at 'highway speeds'.
The new system is being called Dynamic Electric Vehicle Charging (DEVC) and this tech is integrated into a specially-built track running along the road which cuts out the need for stopping electric to charge up.
These kind of breakthroughs will no doubt pave the way for the building of more roads in the future capable of charging cars while they drive without the need to stop and fill up.
Based on the Halo wireless electric vehicle charging technology (WEVC), the DEVC tech can charge two vehicles on the same track simultaneously.
The great thing about these new charging tracts is that vehicles can pick up a charge while travelling forwards and in reverse so charging works in both directions which may be good for contraflow traffic on the same roadway.
The technology was demonstrated at the 100-metre FABRIC test track at Satory Versailles, France, where the two vehicles were able to charge at up to 20 kilowatts while travelling at high speed.
FABRIC stands for FeAsiBility analysis and development of on-Road chargIng solutions for future electriC vehicles. This is a €9 million (£7.6m) project which it is hoped will pave the way for large scale deployment of electromobility which is mostly funded by the European Commission.
The FABRIC test track was built by VEDECOM, fitted with charging tech by Qualcomm, while VEDECOM and Renault worked together to equip two Renault Kangoo vehicles with the receiving part of the technology.
VEDECOM was created in February 2014 and is an Institute for Energy Transition (ITE) established as part of the French government’s ‘Investment for the future plan’ (Programme d’Investissements d’Avenir or PIA). The Institute is dedicated to individual, carbon-free and sustainable mobility.
The CEO of VEDECOM CEO, Luc Marbach said:
"The installation of one of the world’s first DEVC test platforms has provided us with a unique test facility and we look forward to expanding our expertise with the future testing,"
The FABRIC project began in January 2014 and will run until December 2017. The initiative is being carried out by 25 organisations from nine different European countries, including car makers, suppliers, and automotive research groups.
It is hoped the breakthrough in dynamic charging will make electric vehicles a far more attractive option for car users.
Eric Feunteun, Electric Vehicle Program Director, Groupe Renault had this to say:
"We see dynamic charging as a great vision to further enhance the ease of use of EVs [Electric Vehicles], thus the accessibility of EVs for all,"
Steve Pazol, vice president and general manager for Wireless Charging at Qualcomm said:
"The combination of a global team of expert engineers and Qualcomm Halo technology, which covers all aspects of WEVC systems, irrespective of the magnetics used, has enabled us to really push the boundaries of the possible and outline our vision for future urban mobility,"
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