The wireless charging future
An induction-charged Renault Zoe on location
Commonplace wireless vehicle charging may still be a while away, but the technology exists and is in-use today at a small scale in the UK thanks to a pioneering partnership between a car rental company, a leading charge-point provider and several technology initiatives, with funding from the Office for Zero Emissions Vehicles.
Char.gy have been the first to install a publicly accessible, wireless vehicle charging station in Marlow, Buckinghamshire which is not too difficult to find in Liston Road car park just off the high street. Compatible with a fleet of specially modified Renault Zoes available from Hiyacar.co.uk, you're able to book a trial of this exciting, new technology in conjunction with an opportunity to test drive an EV and experience the lifestyle first-hand.
It’s proving to be extremely popular and they’re regularly fully booked, but if you’re close to the area and are at all curious, then I’d definitely recommend keeping an eye on the timetable to snatch up a trial when possible.
They currently operate a fleet of 10 Renault Zoes modified with induction charging plates and a boot full of inverter technology.
Rental costs £1 per hour, for a maximum of 3 days – plenty of time for a short road trip, or to compare against your daily commute.
The cars achieve about 200 miles of real-world range.
Booking is as simple as signing up on their website and selecting a slot – a Bluetooth key system allows instant and easy access.
Charging speed at this pad is currently 3Kw, but they are working on version two to at least double that soon.
The vehicle utilises Wi-Fi to connect to the charging pad and 3G to report to the fleet operator for diagnostic and management purposes.
The project is being run in conjunction with the Open University who will contact drivers after their rental for feedback, as the program is intended to increase awareness and popularity of EV ownership, charging and this experimental technology.
The OSRIC (On Street Residential Inductive Charge) pad
We were lucky enough to meet one of the engineers from the project whilst researching this report which was incredibly fortuitous to provide in-depth detail about the entire operation. They pulled up in one of the vehicles which we thoroughly inspected and even opened up the pad to replace the hardware which was being showcased elsewhere, so we got to see the entire installation.
I was generously offered a quick test drive of the Zoe and was surprisingly pleased with the feel of it (the only other electric car I’ve driven being a Tesla Model 3, so no competition of course), but it’s certainly a cute, compact and quite affordable car at around £28,000 or $38,000.
Under the hood…
In these early development stages, there's much to be desired; the speed being equivalent to a standard 3-pin wall socket (3kw), the amount of hardware required takes up a large portion of the trunk space and it's likely not possible to convert all existing cars to this standard. However, the appeal is self-evident and the idea of a future where you simply park your car in your driveway or garage at night and have it wireless refill, or pull into a high-speed bay at a service station along your route and not have to worry about having the right cable or even leave the vehicle, paints a picture of a beautifully seamless travel experience. Not to mention the implications for self-driving taxis or long-haul transport which may be unable to plug themselves in, wireless charging will open up a whole new world of possibilities for fleet operators, amenities and individual owners alike and quite honestly should have far more attention than it currently receives.
For all of the reasons above and many others, wireless charging would not only further sweeten the pot of EV ownership, but also facilitate a broader and more rapid transition to electric transport, so it’s in all of our best interest that it’s development and investment increases as quickly as possible. Whilst it may seem far off now, a lot can change in just 10 years (like Tesla going from delivering the first Model S in 2012 to becoming a more valuable company than all other auto manufacturers combined in 2021) and before we know it, we may be wondering how we ever lived without it! Personally, I cannot wait to see how this progresses and will be keenly watching and cheering from the side lines.