Inductive charging for electric vehicles, although still in the testing and research phase, is making steady progress towards its implementation in the sector.
This is what Miguel Zarzuela, Project Manager at CIRCE, and Irene Torres, specialist in inductive charging systems at the Technology Centre, told Mobility Portal España.
“Statics could be commercially available before the end of the decade, in fact, I would dare say in less than five years,” says Zarzuela.
According to him, this is because there is already industrialized equipment that “could be installed tomorrow.”
What is the reason why it is not done yet?
“There is a need to foster greater collaboration with vehicle manufacturers to achieve proper integration with the car,” he says.
In this regard, Torres adds: “There is a lack of a push from the automotive industry to standardize and define this technology more clearly.”
Companies actively involved in this field include Toyota, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai and Tesla, among others.
Meanwhile, CIRCE has collaborated on its research project with Stellantis and Renault.
This is INCIT-EV, an initiative that has received funding of 15 million euros from the European Commission, as well as a direct investment in Zaragoza of nearly three million euros.
One of the main achievements of this proposal, which has taken four years of work, is the development of an inductive charging system for electric taxis.
This allows for a range of up to 50 kilometres to be recharged in ten minutes and, thanks to the installation of a cooled transmitter coil on the ground, vehicles can be refuelled without cables and without the risk of overheating.
And not only that.
Progress has also been made with dynamic charging, allowing vehicles to “refuel” en route while travelling at speeds of up to 130 km/h.
This system is based on installing a cable under the asphalt.
“What happens is that, as the car passes by, a power transfer takes place between the road and the receiver installed in the car,” explains Torres.
This way, the user doesn’t have to do anything other than walk over it.
This technology presents different challenges than static charging.
According to experts, it is therefore not expected to reach the market before 2030.
What benefits will inductive charging bring to the eMobility sector?
“The main advantage is that it does not require direct intervention from the user or driver, since inductive charging can be automated very easily,” says Irene Torres.
Simply align the vehicle with the charging area, which relies primarily on the coil responsible for transferring power to it, and the charging process starts automatically.
This provides safer conditions for the driver, as no handling of the charging hose is required.
This, in turn, protects it against possible acts of vandalism, since it has no moving or removable parts.
Power transfer is independent of environmental conditions such as temperature, accumulation of rain or snow in the cargo area, or the presence of dirt, among other factors.
However, it also presents technical challenges.
In this context, one of the main concerns that arises is whether energy can be lost during the transfer process.
According to experts, there is a belief that this system, by not using cables, could have an efficiency of 70% or even 60%.
“Although they are somewhat lower, the results are comparable and this does not mean that they cannot improve,” says Torres.
As he explains, the performance that can be achieved ranges between 85% and 95%, with 90% being a value commonly found in commercial and development systems.
Another challenge is interoperability.
“This means that, with a charging station, it is possible to transfer energy or power to different systems installed in the vehicle and vice versa, and that a car can be charged at several stations,” she explains.
The objective is that any manufacturer, both on the transmitting and receiving side, in compliance with current regulations, can guarantee interoperability.
In turn, electromagnetic emissions generated during magnetic power transfer also represent a challenge.
The drawback lies in its possible impact on nearby devices or in the exposure of users to magnetic fields.
“It is a very important parameter that must be kept within certain limits,” she says.
Efforts are currently underway to define a set of regulatory requirements and tests to reduce these emissions.
Could it also affect the lifespan of the batteries?
“It’s the same as a conventional charger,” says Zarzuela.
He adds: “The energy transferred to the battery is equivalent regardless of whether it is transferred to the vehicle conductively or inductively.”
The inductive system will intelligently charge up to the power limit that has been set, which can be programmed.
Thus, by facilitating continuous charging, deep discharges of the battery are reduced, operating within smaller ranges, which is better for the cells and increases their durability.
“These systems, in principle, thanks to their ease of use, would contribute to prolonging the useful life of batteries,” he concludes.
