Wireless charging technology for electric cars unveiled

HaloIPT, a spin-out from Auckland University in New Zealand backed by UK engineering consultancy Arup, is running a series of pilot projects and hopes to develop a commercial-scale demonstrator by 2012.

The company believes the technology, which transfers energy by magnetic induction, could one day be deployed on roads to allow electric vehicles to charge as they drive.

Chief executive Anthony Thomson said this would not only eliminate the inconvenience of plugging in the cars but would also remove so-called range-anxiety about running out of power.

‘When you have ubiquity you can start to forget about charging the car,’ he said.

HaloIPT’s charger works in the same way as electrical transformers, creating a magnetic field from a pad on the ground that induces an electric current in a receiver pad attached to the bottom of the car.

‘We’re taking the transformer out of the charger, pulling it apart and putting one side in the road and the other in the car,’ added Thomson.