Your electric cars could soon recharge like your smartphone without needing to be plugged in. Testing is underway to pair electric cars with wireless chargers that will potentially revolutionize the concept of electric vehicle charging next year. A pioneer in this technology is Genesis, the luxury vehicle arm of Hyundai Motor, which has tested two of its electric vehicles.
The luxury car brand has begun testing a conductive charging system to help EV owners avoid plugging and unplugging their vehicles, as well as keeping the charging cable in the car. The trials, which will run until June 2023, are being conducted in the premium brand’s home market of Korea.
The technology used by Genesis to offer wireless electric car charging uses a pad that supplies power to the electric vehicle via a magnetic field. The EV will need to be precisely aligned with the pad, mounted on the ground, to ensure that it charges. It is similar to the concept of wireless charging for smartphones. You need to place your device precisely for wireless charging to work.
Genesis plans to install more than 20 such load pads that can supply 11 kW of power. The automaker has deployed its flagship electric cars like the GV60 and GV70 to test the new technology. The automaker described the project as a way to “look for opportunities to improve customers’ electric vehicle charging experience.” “One of the key things we want to focus on is speed; We’re currently maxing out at 11kW, which we think is too slow, so we want to wait until it’s faster for mass adoption,” said Marc Choi, head of product at Genesis.
If Genesis’ tests prove fruitful and it is able to keep the technology to itself and build a European network of charging points, it would be a big draw for the luxury car company, similar to Tesla’s Supercharger network.
Date of first publication: 11 Apr 2023, 09:32 IST
