02/08/2022
Can you imagine charging your electric vehicle wirelessly? Mmm. There's a thought. Of recent years, the technology for wireless charging of smartphones from within your car has become mainstream, but charging the whole car wirelessly? Wow!
However, a project funded by the Government's OZEV department is attempting to do just that - and with some success!
WiCET (Wireless Charging of Electric Taxis) is a demonstration project funded by OZEV, as one of Innovate UK’s portfolio of on-street wireless charging (OSWC) projects, to assess the commercial and technical viability of deploying wireless charging for electric taxis.
The project is being trialled in Nottingham for 3 months and uses 9 vehicles fitted with wireless charging hardware that regularly park up at a specially adapted taxi rank. The project aims to perfect the wireless charging practicalities and the billing system needed to go with it. It is all part of the clean mobility aspirations of the Road To Zero strategy.
The project will develop a vehicle interface to enable wireless charging systems to be either retrofitted on to an electric vehicle or fitted by vehicle manufacturers as a “factory option”; a vehicle identification and billing system will be developed to ensure that drivers are correctly charged for the electricity used.
This would be most practical in large towns and cities. As taxis have to wait, parked up, for their next fare, why not charge while they wait? With wireless charging you wouldn't need cables as the charging equipment would be built directly into the road surface, which means there would be no need for street 'furniture' and clutter on the pavement. Think of the implications for the wider population, for example if you don't have off road parking; or if a disability means it is difficult to get out of the car and connect up a charger. This method means the driver just stays in the vehicle and drives over the road pad ready to charge up.
It sounds like a great move forward in the electric vehicle revolution. Read more about the OZEV's WiCET project here.
