Gas 2.0

Wireless, On-Road Electric Car Charging Patent Could be a Game Changer

Posted: 07 Oct 2009 09:38 AM PDT

A German supplier of electronics and powertrain design to most of the major automakers for the last 25 years has just secured a patent that could be a game changer for electric vehicle adoption. Their technology would allow electric vehicles to be charged as they drive over any road embedded with a recessed wireless recharging strip, using electromagnetic induction.

Ingenieurgesellschaft Auto und Verkehr (IAV) says the technology will be available commercially within 3 years, is insensitive to weather conditions, and is not susceptible to mechanical wear.

As Wilfried Nitschke from IAV says, "The road is then the range extender."

Who said water and electricity don’t mix? At the Wye Island Marathon, the pairing of the two is celebrated as racers push more than 23 miles into 20 mph headwinds, 2 foot waves and rough chop, propelled only by DIY battery packs that can fail at any time.

This post is an excerpt of an article from Popular Mechanics. You can read the full post on their website. Written by Tyghe Trimble.

At the 8 ½-mile mark, Jim Campbell is at the head of the pack, in control of the race. The two-time defending champion has every reason to be confident—he knows the course inside and out, he owns the most time-tested vehicle and he still has a few tricks to pull out, including a parasail, which on this windy day could be a potent weapon. But when he grabs his remote control to adjust the speed, Campbell, his boat and its cargo—400 pounds of lead-acid batteries—suddenly stop.

“I think my nylon gear picked up static when rubbing against the plastic hull of the canoe and my electronics died,” he says. Campbell does the only thing he can—he whips out his emergency jumpers and charges 12 volts back into both of his motors. Then he adjusts his speed, dropping from about 4 knots (4.5 mph) to just less than 3 knots (3.3 mph). The race is no longer a sure win.