Momentum Dynamics CEO: 25kW wireless charging will be the norm in 5 years
25 June 2015
In his remarks at the IEEE-PELS (Power Electronics Society) meeting in Korea, Momentum Dynamics Corporation’s CEO Andy Daga said he believes that 25 kW wireless chargers will be the norm for all EVs within 5 years, with commercialization beginning next year (2016). Momentum Dynamics is developing high-power inductive (wireless) chargers for electric vehicles.
Most PEV models currently on the market charge at 3.3 or 6.6 kW. Notable exceptions are Tesla (10 kW), the Volkswagen e-Golf (7.2 kW), the Mercedes-Benz B-Class electric drive (10 kW) and the BMW i3 (7.4 kW). (Data from ChargePoint).
The key to advancing the rate of adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) is linked to the way they are charged, Daga said. All EVs must be connected to the power grid, and according to Daga, “the impact of wireless charging is to fully automate the charging experience and relegate it to an unnoticed background function. This will make the experience of ‘fueling’ far better than pumping gasoline into a conventional gasoline vehicle. The most important benefit will be EV driving range extension. This is because automatic operation enables more frequent charging, and more frequent charging is the best way to increase driving range.”
Daga said the potential scale of the EV market is so large that the way people charge vehicles in the future needs to be fast and automatic, and cannot be accomplished in residential garages.
There isn’t enough power available on residential streets, and the fact is, most people do not have a garage. The concurrence of mandates and regional market growth make it clear that EV sales will increase, but we must recognize the corresponding need for rapid automatic charging with a ubiquitous network of chargers.
—Andy Daga
It could be interesting for:
1) street-side parking charging places, to charge up while you shop or overnight, at a fair extra charge?
2) shopping center parking, at a fair charge
3) restaurant parking (could be free to attract more customers)
4) hospital parking, at an extra fair charge.
5) cinemas parking, at an extra fair charge.
6) home garage for future BEVs with 120+ kWh battery pack.
7) work place and public parking, at a fair extra charge.
Posted by: HarveyD | 25 June 2015 at 09:27 AM
how does the efficiency compare with two copper contacts?
Posted by: dursun | 25 June 2015 at 06:08 PM
It is about a 5% loss
http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/charging_without_wires
Posted by: NewtonPulsifer | 25 June 2015 at 10:39 PM
I could be convinced that the convenience of wireless is worth a premium, like any other tech package on a car (who knew that we all need power windows).
But the need for 25kW wireless charging for cars that spend 20+ hours per day sitting idle is a much harder case to make.
Taxi stands? Sure. But for any residential, non commercial application, the cheapest, most convenient electric fuel will almost certainly be sourced at home, overnight. Slower charges will be cheaper. Fuel cost matters.
Posted by: electric-car-insider.com | 26 June 2015 at 09:08 AM
When gasoline powered cars can be refueled by hose-less technology, then I will agree with Andy Daga. Meanwhile, I have no trouble plugging in. Maybe cords get stolen in Europe which makes it a pain to have to carry your cord with you and get it out of the trunk to plug in. But it seems to be less of a problem so far in for us gringos. That could change, but I for one do not like to be around strong magnetic fields. It is too much like being around politicians. ;)
Posted by: James McLaughlin | 26 June 2015 at 08:06 PM
eci said:
'But for any residential, non commercial application, the cheapest, most convenient electric fuel will almost certainly be sourced at home, overnight.'
Yep, and every single car in the world is garaged overnight, with convenient access to a charging spot.
Posted by: Davemart | 28 June 2015 at 02:52 AM
I don't worry about my cord being stolen, I run it out of the trunk of the car so someone would have to cut it and then they'd only have part of a cord.
ECI seems right about the "need" for 25 kW inductive charging. I'm upgrading to 3.8 kW but for the last 2 years I've done just fine at 1.4 kW. The only place that 25 kW would make sense is for charging stops on longer trips, and we already have ~50 kW DC charging without any cost or losses for frequency conversion hardware. Taxi stands would do better with a Supercharger, which can do 5x the power. Tesla has a robotic cord that plugs in automagically. Even power through the road can transmit far more power via overhead wires than induction.
Everyone remember the inductive charger required by the EV-1? It passed into history, replaced by plugs. This news release is hype from a company that will probably fold quietly in a few years.
Posted by: Engineer-Poet | 28 June 2015 at 10:41 AM
The future use of wireless charging facilities is underestimated by many posters.
Eventually, billions of hand held devices will be charged that way.
Over 90% of lady (and xx% of male) EV users will select wireless charging over dirty contaminated cables and plugs.
Posted by: HarveyD | 29 June 2015 at 08:31 AM
Whether a car is parked in a garage, a public parking lot or the street, there's an apportunity to provide charging infrastructure. Any city capable of providing street lights and parking meters could provide charging. The advantage of wireless charging is no exposed wires (trip, theft) and no moving parts (maintenance).
We are likely to see this wireless charging first in car share or rental applications where users lack the training or motivation to plug in, but the success of the system depends on it.
Posted by: electric-car-insider.com | 30 June 2015 at 08:41 AM