The benefits of wireless electric car charging

A lack of cords seems to good to be true but this technology could revolutionize the way we use electric vehicles.

Battery technology has come a long way since the very first modern battery was invented in 1800. From then onward, the technology has been developed into something that could possibly save our species and our planet. While there are a number of benefits to batteries, there are still issues that make it frustrating to use.

One of the main issues is charging. Charging a phone is by no means hard but its definitely what most of us worry about. When it comes to charging electric cars the stigma is even greater. A reason why electric vehicles haven’t taken off is simply because of range issues and charging has a big impact on that.

Formula E BMW i8 Safety Car- (Image: Formula E)

Companies like Tesla have made some amazing electric cars but along with that they have invested heavily in charging technology. Tesla superchargers are pretty awesome and can get you a full charge in just over an hour. However, this is insane compared to a quick stop at the gas station. To truly be competitive with gas stations charging needs to be just as quick. While this type of charging speed is likely far off, there are other things we can do.

Wireless charging has been introduced into phone charging but the past couple of years have seen the technology been used with cars. Formula E uses this technology to charge their BMW i8 safety car during race weekends.

Wireless charging is a very interesting idea. It stems from the concept of magnetic resonance. It uses a magnetic field to transfer electricity through thin air. By running a current through coil or wire, you create a magnetic field. Placing another transformer within this field means you can transfer electricity essentially using magnets. This is a very basic way of describing the technology.

Diagram of how the technology works

Utilizing this idea, Qualcomm has developed a nifty device called the Halo. No, this is not the gross looking device now used in Formula 1. The Halo is a charging pad that can interact with electric vehicles. This is exactly what Formula E’s BMW i8 uses.

This pad makes it incredibly easy to charge a vehicle. No more cords, no more forgetting to plug in your car. You simply drive over the pad with your car and matching device to begin charging. Developing this technology further could result in some incredible changes for electric cars. Many people have theorized that we could line our roads and highways with these pads. What this means is we could have a consistent and never ending charge while driving.

Qualcomm pad demonstrated with a Renault electric vehicle — (Image: Qualcomm)

It could shrink the size of batteries and make the cars much lighter. Not only will it impact car performance it will also change the cost of these cars. Right now the batteries are the most expensive part of an electric car. If we can charge while driving there will be no need for large and dense batteries that can last 400 miles.

Of course, if its too good to be true, it probably is. Implementing this kind of technology on our already existing roadways would be a massive task. Even if the technology is available it would be incredibly difficult to get governments involved in the process. Highways are already expensive enough to maintain and build so adding complex tech can make things messy.

Formula E’s BMW i8 with Qualcomm’s Halo

A better place to start would be in parking spots. If a Qualcomm Halo was added in all parking spots everyone could get a charge without thinking about it. Again, this would be quite the burden on power grids and energy production. That point can take us into a completely different topic of sustainable and renewable energy but that can be saved for another time.

The possibilities are endless for a technology of this magnitude and hopefully mainstream pads can be developed soon. One way to make this mainstream is by having Tesla develop a pad. It seems everything Elon Musk does nowadays will be picked up by every news outlet on earth.