Charging Electric Vehicles on the Go

Nov-25-13 The ‘range anxiety’ felt by drivers of electric vehicles may be relieved if researchers realize their vision of installing wireless chargers in roads.

Currently, stationary inductive charges for EVs rely on sensors to make sure the receiver coils on the vehicle are properly aligned with the charging coils. To allow for the charging of a moving vehicle, a team from North Carolina State University developed a receiver that will trigger a shot of power when a vehicle passes over a transmitter. The roadway-embedded transmitter coils would be constantly giving off a weak field, which would be increased when a vehicle with a receiver passes by. The team has already created a low-power prototype, and hopes to increase its rate to 50 kilowatts.

According to Srdgan Lukic, assistant professor at NCSU, models indicate that installing the charging coils in just 10 percent of a roadway would extent a car’s driving range from about 60 miles to as much as 300.

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[TECHNOLOGYREVIEW.COM]

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