After Tesla revealed its awesome Model 3 which became an instant hit, companies trying to improve charging technology – including wireless charging technology, are making their stand right now. One of the companies on the brink of discovery of the best way to recharge the batteries wirelessly is the Departments of Energy Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The have made quite a progress in making the wireless charging technology far more efficient than ever before.
“We have made tremendous progress from the lab proof-of-concept experiments a few years ago,” explained Madhu Chinthavali, ORNL Power Electronics team leader. “We have set a path forward that started with solid engineering, design, scale-up and integration into several Toyota vehicles.”
The 20 kW wireless charging is amazing, to say the least. This technology, more or less, allows the batteries to be recharged for a 30 mile trip in 30 minutes. OK, direct chargers have much more to offer, but this is fully wireless tech and that is what counts. The implications could be tremendous. Imagine driving an electric car, going to the mall, staying there for an hour or two and in the meantime, your car batteries are getting the much needed “fuel” thanks to wireless tech embedded in the parking lot flooring. That would be so awesome.
As it turns out they are considering to put this technology into mass production as engineers figured out a way to make it safe thanks to focused and shielded power transfer technologies which will happen under the car. We would not want to be a cat under that car. It would be electrifying.
