Wireless charging offers hope for mass electric vehicle use

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PA Consulting's Michael Hurwtiz, future mobility expert, discusses EV wireless charging with Peter Campbell in the Financial Times.

Commenting on this, Michael says: “The adoption of this technology will be in a fleet, or captive fleet, first, because it’s exponentially harder when you go to private cars ”.

He adds: "If you have opportunity charging, rather than at the end of a route, then the battery size you need and the very significant cost of the vehicle goes down. But there are still significant hurdles for the technology to clear before it is proven. Parts have to be interoperable, allowing rival vehicle models to charge on the same system to avoid duplicating the technology. Installing underfloor charging pads, meanwhile, can be prohibitively expensive. Then there is the wider challenge of getting highway operators to co-ordinate with energy grids, and the wider automotive industry".

Michael concludes: "The best chance for the technology is to have it “wrapped into the way we build and maintain roads, both commercially and operationally — if any highways are going to make it work, it’s intensively used freight corridors. However, the need for a high-speed electricity connection can make achieving widespread on-the-road charging too difficult".