Zaragoza (Spain) 26/10/2018.
CIRCE has successfully tested a new wireless energy transfer solution for use with heavy electric vehicles that is not only faster but also poses less of a problem for urban furniture.
The research centre validated its system in the metallurgy industry, managing to transfer inductive power at a rate of 300 kW thanks to its involvement in the European NIWE project. Zaragoza, 26 October 2018. The Aragonese technology centre CIRCE has recently come to a new milestone in the field of wireless energy transfers. CIRCE has developed the first system capable of transferring power wirelessly at 300 kW – triple the capacity they had achieved two years ago.
This improvement means the doors to ultra-fast charging have opened for heavy electric vehicles, which can now be charged in 60% less time than with the systems used so far, with the added advantage of being wireless. The system is also easier for vehicle drivers to use and is less intrusive for urban infrastructure and furniture because it is embedded in the ground.
This landmark has been reached thanks to the European NIWE project, financed by the European Commission under the Horizon2020 Programme, which is coming to an end this week after five years of hard work. In fact, thanks to this project, the solution developed by CIRCE has been validated in the metallurgy industry to power foundry furnaces through induction.
As well as applying the new wireless charging prototype to other industries, it has been especially conceived in the short term for wireless charging of large electric vehicles such as lorries and buses, for inner-city and inter-city use. The key behind this system is an electric current flowing between two coils – one in the ground and another inside the vehicle – generating a magnetic field when the vehicle stops above the coil that charges it without wires or connections. Given that the system is underground, it causes only the very slightest visual impact on the city and is extremely easy to use.
Wireless charging can be used for a huge range of purposes, including anything from public transport, delivery companies and private homes to industrial settings, where induction charging can enhance process automation and make for more stable and robust systems without bundles of cables.
The solution achieved in the NIWE project represents yet another step forward, adding to the results of the UNPLUGGED project which CIRCE worked on up until 2015. These results included a modular device to power 25 or 50 kW systems depending on the type of vehicle to be charged. The advantage brought about by this new, more powerful solution is that it has been conceived especially for heavy vehicles, significantly cutting down charging times.
Source: CIRCE. http://www.fcirce.es