Evatran is one such company looking to exploit a technology – inductive charging – similar to that available in an electric toothbrush to provide a new and possibly market-disrupting solution to the sticky issue of electric vehicle recharging.
Inductive charging allows motorists to recharge their electric vehicle batteries just by parking their car over a wireless recharging station, making the process quicker and simple, and reducing the changes of wear and tear or damage from vandalism.
Evatran has just announced that Google is trialling its “hands-free” charging station for electric vehicles at its Mountain View headquarters in California (US). “Plugless Power is the first electric vehicle charging system on the market to offer consumers a simple way to charge their electric vehicles with the ease of hands-free, automatic technology,” says Evatran.
“We are thrilled to have our first public release of the Plugless Power technology installed at Google’s headquarters,” said Tom Hough, co-founder and CEO of Plugless Power. “The interest shown by Google and the cooperation we’ve received to retrofit their electric vehicle provides evidence that a simple, convenient charging process is needed for the widespread adoption of electric vehicles.”
Google showed interest in testing the Plugless Power technology and understanding how its features could simplify the charging process for its plug-in electric vehicle fleet vehicles. Google has multiple low-speed electric vehicles for short-range travel around its campus and includes plug-in vehicles in its on-campus employee car-sharing program. The company will initially use the Plugless Power station to charge a retrofitted short-range electric vehicle.
According to Hough, this first public installation is an important step in bringing the technology to commercial customers, and Evatran is actively seeking other fleet trial opportunities with corporations and municipalities to experience the Plugless Power technology in the third quarter of 2011. Most electric vehicle models are eligible for Plugless Power through a simple retrofit process, says the company. In addition to fleet distribution, Evatran is currently working with automotive manufacturers to integrate the Plugless Power technology into mass-market electric vehicles by 2012.
Siemens and BMW also involved
Elsewhere, Siemens and BMW have unveiled a wireless electric vehicle charging station. The two firms launched their non-contact charging station at the Hannover Messe last week in advance of a government-funded trial scheme in Berlin planned for June this year.
Meanwhile, US-based Momentum Dynamics is also developing a proprietary technology that will enable electric vehicles to recharge wirelessly. "Anywhere people go as a destination or as a workplace opportunity can be a place where they charge their vehicle," explains Andrew Daga, Principal Founder and CEO of the company.
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