SAN JOSE: In a milestone on the path towards fast, cable-free recharging in electric cars, scientists at the largest state research institute in the US have set a world record for inductive charging.
Earlier this year, researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in Tennessee state fitted a Porsche Taycan with a specially developed charging device, making it possible to increase the battery's state of charge by 50% in just 10 minutes - all wirelessly.
If ultimately viable, the technology could transform the recharging procedure for electric car owners, who would no longer need to get out of their car to plug in cables.
The team at Oak Ridge used lightweight polyphase electromagnetic coupling coils. These have a compact diameter of 19 inches and power transfer is similar to that used to charge phones.
The smallest battery of this Taycan model has a 71 kWh capacity and a range of 431km when fully charged (WLTP test standard).
After being modified, the inductive charging power reached up to 270 kW. This is also the maximum theoretical charging power of the first Taycan generation when using a cable. It is also considerably more than most electric cars can handle at a DC fast charging point.
Experts say electric cars are close to being able to charge their batteries via induction without a cable and with high charging power - similar to the wireless charging technology used in smartphones for years. The technology also works with buses and other vehicles.
The technology would work at public charging stations, with drivers simply stopping the car over the charging plate. However most EV owners will not have a suitable grid connection at their home to cope with channelling 270 kW into their car's battery.
Porsche is not directly involved in the development project, but the US research organisation is working together with the Volkswagen Group, Germany's car magazine Autobild reported.
During an official visit to the ORNL site, VW managers recently viewed the results of the project. Porsche is following the work in the US "with interest", a company spokesman told Autobild.
