Researchers Set Another World Record In Wireless EV Charging

Over the years, one of the biggest causes for concern for electric vehicle (EV) owners has been charging anxiety.

While companies and governments are mobilizing to bolster the infrastructure, users are still a little skeptical about the maintenance of such infrastructure and the time required to charge vehicles.

In this regard, EV charging companies are building charging stations with higher capacities to facilitate faster charging. At the same time, governments are promoting particular types of plug or connector system designs.

However, this all may be set to change, as researchers from the US Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have announced a world record-breaking achievement.

So, let’s explore what the researchers revealed!
 

What Did The Researchers Achieve?

 

• As per a news release published on its website, the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) announced that a group of researchers successfully demonstrated (video) the first 270-kW wireless power transfer to a light-duty EV.

• This world record-breaking achievement builds upon their previous record demonstrating 100-kW wireless charging in March 2024.

• The research was conducted in collaboration with the Volkswagen Group of America and the vehicle used was a Porsche Taycan EV.

• The achievement will help boost the adoption of EVs in the United States.

• It also marks the completion of a collaborative project announced between the DOE’s ORNL and Volkswagen Group of America in 2021.

• However, the researchers will continue working to further improve upon the 270-kW charging prototype, with the aim of making it more cost-effective.

• Over the years, ORNL has demonstrated improvements in wireless charging, coming up from 20-kilowatts in an SUV in 2016 to 120-kW charging in 2018.

 

What Does The ORNL Power Transfer System Consist Of?

 

• Ordinarily, the Taycan wouldn’t be able to support conventional large, heavy wireless power transfer systems due to space, weight and volume restrictions.

• This is where the ORNL-invented system comes in. It transfers power to the Porsche using lightweight polyphase electromagnetic coupling coils with a diameter just over 19 inches, which enables higher power density in the smallest coil possible.

• The process is similar to wireless charging of smaller consumer devices; however, its unique geometry and design of the polyphase coils make it capable of transferring extremely high-power levels.

• This is done by using rotating magnetic fields generated by the coil phase windings to boost the power.

• The system was seamlessly integrated into the undercarriage of the vehicle.

• To curtail excessive voltage, overheating and short-circuiting, the power transfer system includes a protection system.

• ORNL’s Omer Onar, leader of the Vehicle Power Electronics group and lead researcher on the Porsche demonstration, said, “The receiver coil designed for the Porsche Taycan research vehicle can achieve 8 to 10 times higher power density compared to existing systems. Per kilowatt weight, this is also the most lightweight charging system in the world.”

 

What Did The Researchers And Stakeholders Say?

 

• ORNL’s Omer Onar, said, “We’re also working with Volkswagen on developing a polyphase system for residential charging applications and collaborating on the development of a lightweight enclosure design that will improve mechanical, electrical, thermal and magnetic performance.”

• [Contd.] “Our goal is to mature the technology so that it’s ready for deployment in production vehicles.”

• [Contd.] “We’re working to reach much higher charge rates for other types of vehicles, including investigating achieving a significantly higher charge for heavy-duty freight and transport trucks.”

• Lyndon Lie, Volkswagen Group of America’s chief engineering officer, said, “It’s exciting to see the significant progress Volkswagen and Oak Ridge National Lab are making together in many critical technologies. Innovation projects being researched in East Tennessee will transform the automotive industry.”

• [Contd.] “Wireless charging like that demonstrated with Oak Ridge could make charging EVs significantly easier for consumers, with quick charging times encouraging zero emissions adoption and leading to a more sustainable transportation sector.”

• ORNL’s Burak Ozpineci, corporate fellow and distinguished researcher who leads vehicle and mobility systems research at ORNL, said, “This achievement gets us one step further to the reality of a future where an electric vehicle can pull into a charging station and recharge in the same time it would take to walk into a store and grab a snack.”

• [Contd.] “The driver doesn’t have to do anything but park. We’re even exploring ways that this technology could be used to charge a vehicle in motion on the roadway.”

Do you think this breakthrough will improve the adoption of EVs? Do you think it will cause problems for EV charger manufacturing companies?

Let us know in the comments below!