Bitauto Original It is said that technology changes life. Everyone must have experienced the convenience of wireless charging of mobile phones, but wireless charging in the field of electric vehicles is still in its early stages. Recently, Zhiji Auto just announced the implementation of its 11kW car wireless charging solution. Earlier, Tesla also demonstrated its next-generation car wireless charging concept product at the 2023 Investor Day. It is foreseeable that in the future, car wireless charging technology may become another competitive direction for electric vehicles after intelligence.
Car companies are betting on the next generation of home wireless charging piles
On the 2023 Tesla Investor Day presentation PPT, there was a rendering of Tesla’s restaurant and super charging station in Southern California. A wireless charging board was arranged under the Model S in the super charging station. Although Tesla has not yet disclosed details about when or even whether it may make the technology available to car owners, Rebecca Tinucci, Tesla’s head of global charging infrastructure, also mentioned in her speech, “Tesla must continue to focus on providing truly Incredible charging experience ”
Picture: Tesla restaurant and wireless charging pad
In fact, before Tesla, various car companies have already conducted in-depth research and application on wireless charging of new energy vehicles. Among them, brands such as Volvo, Genesis, BMW, and Zhiji have made significant progress.
Volvo
In 2022, Volvo said that it is testing wireless charging technology. Within three years, Volvo will provide wireless charging services for the electric version of the XC40 in Sweden.
The greatest significance of Volvo’s wireless charging technology is that it is highly practical. The maximum charging power can reach 40kW, which is equivalent to 10 times that of ordinary household charging piles. Calculated based on the battery capacity of the XC40 being 69kWh. , it takes about 100 minutes to charge an empty battery to 100%, and no complicated operations are required. Just park the vehicle in a designated parking space and the charging will be completed automatically.
Genesis & Modern
The Genesis GV60 also had wireless charging hardware installed when tested in 2022, and was later made available as an option on the GV60 EV, but it would only be launched in South Korea initially. The in-vehicle wireless sensing hardware comes from charging expert WiTricity, and users only need to buy their own wireless charging piles and install them on the floor of their garage. Genesis claims this wireless charging system is faster than traditional home wall-mounted wired charging, with charging power of up to 11kW, which can fully charge the new car's 77.4kWh battery in 6 hours, while wall-mounted charging power is only 7kW, which takes 10 hours.
In addition, Hyundai Motor has also applied WiTricity's technology when developing its E-GMP platform dedicated to electric vehicles. It is expected that the wireless charging function will be launched on the Hyundai Ioniq 5 in the future.
BMW
In fact, as early as five years ago, both BMW and Mercedes-Benz carried out research on wireless charging of electric vehicles. Later, Mercedes-Benz gave up, and BMW only carried out research on the 5 Series 530e plug-in hybrid model for leasing pilots.In a small-scale test, this wireless charging equipment was also applied to some BMW special cars in Chengdu, China. Users only need to follow the guidance of the central control screen to park the vehicle above the ground charging module and turn off the vehicle start-stop button to automatically charge the vehicle through wireless induction.
Picture: BMW 5 Series plug-in hybrid wireless charging system
Zhiji
Zhiji Auto announced on March 15 that it has launched its first 11kW high-power vehicle intelligent wireless charging solution. Its charging efficiency is close to wired charging (reaching about 95% of the wired charging efficiency of the same power), and it has a collaborative location detection function. . The wireless charging board has a protection level of IP67 and IP6K9K, and adopts a high-strength design to support the detection of metal and living foreign objects. In the future, Zhiji wireless charging solution will also integrate WLC's exclusive high-precision parking technology, which can be charged while parking without the need to plug in and out of the charging gun.
In terms of price, Zhiji App shows that this wireless charging pile is priced at 18,999 yuan. Car owners need to install an additional car-side wireless charging module (6,000 yuan). After deducting the original gift of 7kW wired charging pile rights, the actual price is only 18,999 yuan. Pay 12,000 yuan. Wireless charging piles will be installed starting in the second half of this year. Before that, Zhiji will arrange for the temporary installation of 7kW wired charging piles. After the wireless charging piles are installed, the 7kW wired charging piles will be recycled.
Wireless charging has become a new direction in the “arms race” of suppliers
In a recent WiTricity survey, 96% of people are interested in wireless charging for cars, and 70% said they would be more likely to buy an electric car with wireless charging capabilities.
It is foreseeable that wireless charging may be a more popular feature on electric vehicles in the future than intelligence. It will be a key driver in accelerating the popularity of electric vehicles and promoting a greener future, because it can solve the problem of supplementary power in many application scenarios. Can problem.
For example, Tesla models enable FSD to automatically replenish energy after the vehicle arrives at the destination; unmanned buses, express delivery vehicles, etc. can also be completely unmanned; or when you don’t have time to find charging piles for your car, you can spend it The vehicle searches for wireless charging piles on its own; wireless charging can also solve the current problem of many vehicles not sharing charging plugs. Just like mobile phones, cars, SUVs, trucks and other vehicles of different types and brands can all use the same charging block. board charging.
Dynamic wireless charging technology based on road charging will also have broader business prospects. By embedding wireless charging hardware on fixed commercial routes, vehicles can be charged while walking. Electric trucks no longer need to be equipped with large batteries, and can further Reduce vehicle cost.
Some people have been researching this aspect for a long time. ElectReon, an Israeli start-up technology company established in 2013, has laid 6 kilometers of dynamic wireless charging roads in Israel and Sweden, and is carrying out similar projects in Germany and Italy. . ElectReon buries a 1.2-meter-long transmitting coil under the road. Each section of the charging coil is 100 meters long and is laid 200 meters apart. The asphalt layer on the road may electrocute passers-by.down to zero, so safety is not an issue. At the same time, three receivers are installed under the chassis of the test bus. The bus can charge automatically when driving on this section of the road, and there is no need to go to a special charging pile for charging.
It may become popular on a large scale as soon as 2025
In fact, the products of automobile OEM manufacturers are the research results of integrating upstream and downstream parts suppliers, and wireless charging is no exception, including the wireless charging technologies of the Genesis GV60, Zhiji L7, and BMW 530e mentioned above. From the supplier WiTricity.
Picture: WiTricity wireless charging station
Currently WiTricity is also a leading company in the field of automotive wireless charging. Its cooperation partners also include Nissan, General Motors, and Tesla. The company has previously demonstrated Tesla Model 3 and Ford Mustang Mach equipped with WiTricity wireless charging functions. -E.
Picture: Tesla Model 3 equipped with WiTricity wireless charging
In addition to WiTricity, foreign companies currently researching automotive wireless charging technology include American Qualcomm Halo (mainly researching dynamic wireless charging, acquired by WiTricity), Evatran, Momentum Dynamics, HEVO POWER, Canadian ELIX and Bombardier, etc.
In terms of achievements, Halo has developed a wireless charging system with an output power of 3.3 to 20kW and an overall efficiency greater than 90%; WiTricity’s Drive 11 (11kW wireless charging system) efficiency is as high as 93%; Canadian ELIX company uses magnetodynamic coupling MDC technology to achieve an output power of 7.7kW; the PLUGLESS wireless charging system proposed by the American Evatran company has also achieved power outputs of 3.6kW and 7.2kW. The devices are priced at US$5,999 and US$12,999 respectively, and provide wireless charging technology support for Tesla Model S, BMW i3, Nissan LEAF, Chevrolet volt and other models.
Picture: Tesla Model S using Evatran wireless charging
Momentum Dynamics' Momentum wireless charging system has a maximum output power of 200kW and an efficiency of 95%. It has successfully applied it to wireless charging of electric buses in cooperation with the American Link Transit company.
According to WiTricity, the market will reach an inflection point around 2025 or 2026, and automotive wireless charging technology may be widely used. Especially if Tesla begins to widely adopt this technology, this time will be further accelerated. process and reduce costs.
Now the price of wireless charging car parts is basically the same as that of wired charging car parts. The cost of ground-mounted parts is expected to be less than US$1,000 after mass production. And as the technology is deployed on a large scale, as materials improve and parts are integrated, costs will drop significantly. "By 2030, the price of wireless chargers should easily be on par with wired charging," said a WiTricity executive.
Editor's comment: The implementation of Zhiji Automobile's wireless charging solution proves the applicability of wireless charging in automobiles. This technology is no longer as illusory as a mirage, and the road to innovation in the global electric vehicle charging experience has begun. Tesla's entry is likely to once again exert the catfish effect and promote the rapid development of wireless charging technology for cars. By then, driving an electric car may really be the same as a fuel car. Park and go, and there will be no extra work to do.
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*Note: The pictures in the article are from the Internet