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Volvo Cars is going to test induction charging in Sweden on a fleet of taxis equipped with XC40 Recharge. This three-year trial period will involve many other stakeholders, such as Momentum Dynamics, the technology provider.
Already proven in the world championship of Formula-E electric single-seaters with the safety car, induction charging is coming to the heart of the city, more precisely to Gothenburg (Sweden).
This experience, which should run over three years, is to the credit of the Sino-Swedish manufacturer Volvo Cars. Thus, a fleet of XC40 Recharge, the brand’s electric SUV, managed by the local taxi company Cabonline, will be recharged at wireless charging stations installed in specially equipped spaces.
Driving more than 12 hours a day and covering 100,000 km/year, this test will constitute “a very first demonstration of the sustainability of Volvo cars”, said Momentum Dynamics. This North American supplier of the technology used has until now worked in the wireless charging of electric trucks and buses.
Two curbside charging stations will be available at as many taxi ranks in central Gothenburg. Recharging will be carried out by sending the current via a transmitter placed on the ground and a receiving plate located under the chassis of the vehicle. The Volvo’s 360° camera will guide the driver to the exact position. The manufacturer announces that the maximum charging power will be 40 kW and that it will be possible to gain 100 km of autonomy in 30 min.
As part of the Göteborg Green City Zone project, this test will allow “to try exciting new technologies in a real-world environment and evaluate them over time for possible larger-scale introductionsaid Mats Moberg, director of research and development at Volvo Cars. Testing new charging technologies with selected partners is a good way to assess alternative charging options for our future cars.”
The goal of the municipality of Gothenburg is to have a fleet of fossil fuel-free vehicles by 2023 and to reduce CO2 emissions by 90% in its entire transport system by 2030. Electrification is therefore part of the strategy.
Experienced wireless charging at all costs
This is not the first time that induction charging for cars has been tested on a full scale. As early as 2012, London conducted an experiment with the equipment manufacturer Qualcomm via Halo Qualcomm technology (a sector of the eponymous group) and Renault.
Also in the United Kingdom, in 2015, the English motorways authority (Highways England), with the support of the government, decided to test the technology by magnetic induction charging on sections of roads closed to the public. Like mobile phones, electric and hybrid vehicles needed to be charged while still driving. The outcome of this experiment is not known at this time.
Today, the only production car rechargeable by induction is the BMW 530e iPerformance, a hybrid sedan that can take advantage of this chargeable option to recharge its battery in 3 h 30 min.