One of the next steps on the way to perfect electric drive and plug-in hybrid vehicles is wireless charging.
Daimler and BMW have agreed on jointly developing and implementing one common technology for wireless recharging high-voltage batteries of electric drive and plug-in hybrid vehicles.
The system consists of two components: a secondary coil integrated into the under tray of the car and a primary coil integrated into a floor plate that can be placed on a garage floor for instance. Electrical energy is transmitted contact-free without the need for a cable, at a power rate of 3.6 kW and with a degree of efficiency of 90%, this method enables the high-voltage batteries in vehicles to be charged efficiently, conveniently and safely.
A further development target is to minimize the charging time for contactless power transmission. At a charging rate of 3.6 kilowatts, the high-voltage batteries in many plug-in hybrid vehicles can be fully charged in under three hours.
Daimler and BMW will commence fleet testing of this technology with the Mercedes-Benz S 500 Plug in HYBRID, the all-electric BMW i3 and the BMW i8 plug-in hybrid sports car, in order to develop a real solution in recharging the high voltage battery in terms of comfort and ease of operating in the near future.
It takes less than two hours to charge the BMW i8 using a fully working prototype of an inductive charging station. In order to make allowance for the higher storage capacities of high-voltage batteries in pure-electric vehicles, the future technology standard also foresees the possibility of increasing the charging rate to 7 kW. This ensures that the battery in the BMW i3 could still be fully charged overnight when using the inductive system.
Inductive wireless charging makes life considerably easier for the driver of an electric or plug-in hybrid vehicle, as there is no need to connect any cables to top up the power reserves. Once it has been correctly positioned above the primary coil, the driver can simply start the charging process at the push of a button using the vehicle’s own operating system. Data is transmitted via a WiFi connection between vehicle and charging station to help the driver even with parking. . The relevant smartphone app will let drivers call up the data transmitted online on the battery’s charge status, for instance, or the time remaining until charging is complete.
The inductive charging facility can be used regardless of the weather conditions. Not even rain or snow has a negative effect on the power feed as all of the system’s conductive components are protected, which means the primary coil can even be installed outdoors. During charging, ambient electromagnetic radiation is also kept to an absolute minimum. The space between the primary and secondary coils is permanently monitored, allowing charging to be halted instantly if any foreign bodies are detected.[wzslider height=”400″ lightbox=”true”]
