The idea of ​​wirelessly charging EVs on the go is gradually gaining momentum – and for good reason. Feeding your car while driving eliminates the inconvenience of stopping at a charging station and would put an end to the worry about the range once and for all.
Stellantis is the latest carmaker to explore the capabilities of Dynamic Wireless Power Transfer (DWPT), a technology that allows electric vehicles to recharge while traveling on specially equipped, specialized lanes.
What is dynamic wireless power transfer?
DWPT is basically a system of coils placed under the asphalt. They emit an electromagnetic field that is captured by vehicles moving above them, which in turn is converted into electricity by a special receiver.
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In this way, the road infrastructure can supply energy to the electric motor, preserving the battery charge and expanding the range of the car.
Stelantis pilot project
Stellantis has built a special round test track called the Arena del Futuro (Italian for “Arena of the Future”), where it is testing an equipped Fiat 500 EV.
You can check out how the circuit works in the video below:
According to the car manufacturer, the test showed that an electric car like the Fiat 500 can travel at medium speeds on the highway without consuming battery power. He also showed that the efficiency of the energy flow from the asphalt to the car is comparable to the typical efficiency of fast charging stations.
Stellantis attributes the success to the fact that the Arena del Futuro is powered by direct current (DC), which offers three significant advantages:
- Reduces power loss during energy distribution.
- This eliminates the need to convert DC to AC.
- It allows the use of thinner aluminum power distribution cables, which are easier to obtain and recycle and have half the cost of copper.
The carmaker believes that DWPT technology “will simplify the customer’s approach to electric mobility and ultimately meet in a tangible way the requirements for decarbonisation and environmental sustainability in the mobility sector.”
And this is absolutely correct. The longer time it takes to charge an EV compared to an ICE vehicle and the limiting range are still significant barriers to the transition to electric mobility. Charging while driving will eliminate these concerns.
However, implementing DWPT technology will not be easy. We are looking at huge infrastructural changes and a lot of funding to do this – at best – within a decade.
On the plus side, innovative technologies such as 5G, IoT and AI applications could facilitate this transition. We can continue to hope that with the increase in the use of electric cars, the long waiting times at charging stations will become a thing of the past.
https://thenextweb.com/news/fiat-kitted-out-500-ev-to-charge-wirelessly-while-driving
