Volvo Cars is starting a field test with wireless charging technology for electric vehicles. The test is being conducted in a live urban environment in Gothenburg, Sweden, in collaboration with selected partners, to explore the potential of this technology.
As part of the field test, several copies of the fully electric Volvo XC40 Recharge are being used as taxis. Cabonline, the largest taxi company in Scandinavia, will commission the cars for a period of three years. The batteries of these Volvos can then be charged wirelessly at certain locations in Gothenburg. The wireless charging test is among many projects outlined within the strategic initiative 'Gothenburg Green City Zone', which uses designated areas in the city as a live test site for sustainable technology development.
“Gothenburg Green City Zone allows us to try new technologies in a live test environment and evaluate them over time, ultimately exploring the potential for large-scale application. Testing new charging technology in collaboration with selected partners is a good way to discover alternative charging options for our future cars.”
Easy in use
The charging stations used in the test were supplied by Momentum Dynamics, a leading supplier of wireless charging systems. Charging starts automatically as soon as a suitable vehicle parks above the charging station built into the road surface. This allows drivers to easily charge their electric car, even without having to get out.
High payloads
The charging station sends the energy through a charging path to the receiver in the car. The 360-degree camera system is used as an aid to easily align the car with the charging station. With the fully electric XC40 Recharge, the battery is charged wirelessly with a capacity of more than 40 kW. That is almost four times higher than via a conventional 11 kW AC charging point and almost as fast as a 50 kW DC fast charger. The electric Volvos are used by Cabonline for more than twelve hours a day and drive approximately 100.000 kilometers per year. This also makes this the first real endurance test of a fully electric Volvo in a commercial application.
Swedish partners
Other partners involved in this project are Swedish retailers Volvo Bil and Volvo Car Sörred, Swedish energy company Vattenfall and its charging network InCharge, city energy company Göteborg Energi and Business Region Gothenburg, a municipal economic development agency owned by the city of Gothenburg. .
Volvo Cars was also involved last year in the launch of the Gothenburg Green City Zone initiative, which aims to achieve zero-emission transport by 2030. By using a real city as a testing ground, they hope to advance the development of electrification, shared mobility, autonomous driving, connectivity and safety, according to Volvo Cars.
Photo above and below: Volvo image bank.
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