Momentum Dynamics, a specialist in high-power wireless charging for electric vehicles, and CEVT have demonstrated high-power wireless charging on a passenger vehicle with autonomous parking.
This demonstration highlights autonomous parking combined with high-power autonomous charging in a commercially-available vehicle. This passenger vehicle demonstration proves the feasibility of charging electric vehicles automatically without the need for human attendance, who are then freed for other activities. The next phase of development is to advance this technology into other vehicle types and use cases, including fleets, garages, forecourts, and other public charging locations.
The team was faced with the technical challenge of combining alignment feedback with autonomous parking and then integrating the system into vehicle in a short period of time. Using Momentum Dynamics’ real-time alignment feedback and CEVT’s automatic parking capabilities, the vehicle was able to automatically maneuver and stop within the alignment tolerance in every test and then begin to charge automatically.
This technology provides an effective solution for the charging of vehicles without the need for human interaction. Wireless charging has clear applications in distributed fleet situations such as last-mile delivery: it is important for fleet efficiency that autonomous delivery vehicles can continue in service while automatically charging in strategic locations, without the need for a person or complex robot to dock the vehicle to a cable-based charging port.
Momentum Dynamics CEO Andrew Daga said, “Automatic wireless charging is the inevitable future of EV charging. No other system can match the efficiency, cost effectiveness and convenience of truly hands-free high-power wireless charging, where no human or mechanical interaction between the charger and the vehicle is required. Our high-power, modular system means that commercial applications can now be realized at scale and at the lowest operational cost of any type of electric fueling system.”
We see wireless charging as a strong player in the future of EV charging and the demonstrator that we’ve developed together with Momentum Dynamics has shown the potential of a fully autonomous system. The work with Momentum Dynamics saw technical challenges that have been solved with agility,” says Jörgen Wulfsberg, Director Electrical vehicle charging systems at CEVT.
Momentum Dynamics is the market-leading original technology developer of high-power, efficient automatic wireless charging systems for the automotive and transportation industries with real-world technology in operation that proves the capability and need for fast, automated opportunity charging of electric vehicles.
In transit bus applications, Momentum’s system has been proven through years of service at effective power levels of over 200 kW and the system is capable of delivering 450 kW. Momentum Dynamics practices world-class technology innovation and is recognized for the unique expertise of its engineers and scientists.
CEVT is an innovation and development center for future technologies of Geely Holding Group with the purpose of being at the forefront of new developments in mobility. It is a fast growing, fast moving and exciting company where no day is like the other – where the challenges of tomorrow are on the working table today. CEVT consists of some 2,000 people with offices in Gothenburg and Trollhättan in Sweden and currently works on projects for the car brands Volvo Cars, Geely Auto, Lynk & Co and Lotus. CEVT is a subsidiary of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group.
Hordon Kim, International Editor, hordon@powerelectronics.co.kr
