Edinburgh starts wireless charging project
A project is underway in Edinburgh to assess whether wireless charging technology can support the introduction of more electric vehicles to the city council’s fleet and those of commercial organisations.
The £1.6m project, led by Flexible Power Systems, will do this by assessing shared charging hubs, dynamic charge scheduling across fleets, and high-power wireless charging for Light Commercial Vehicles. The project is being delivered in partnership with The City of Edinburgh Council and Heriot-Watt University.
KAUST team models use of wireless road charging
Initially, four L2H1 variant Vauxhall Vivaro E vans will take to the streets, each fitted with a 75kW/h battery, Combined Charging System (CCS) rapid charging protocol, and 12kW onboard charger. To recharge, the van’s underslung vehicle assembly (VA) is positioned over a ground assembly (GA) to top the vehicle’s battery up in under an hour. A high-frequency inverter drive generates the 85kHz switching required for recharging via the GA.
In the video below, James Derby, chief electrical engineer at FPS describes how the VA charging coil incorporates a rectifier unit and integrates into the battery, charging mechanism and pre-charge circuitry, the latter allowing safe connection/disconnection of the VA to the battery system.
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