Many people worry that if they had an electric car, its battery range wouldn't allow them to get from one charging station to another. That wouldn't be a problem, however, if the vehicle was able to draw power from the road as it was driving. Renault, Qualcomm Technologies and sustainable transportation company Vedecom have taken a step towards making that happen, with the recent demonstration of a dynamic wireless electric vehicle charging (DEVC) system.

The demo took place this Thursday on a 100-meter (328-ft) test track built by Vedecom and located in Versailles, France, near Paris.

That track has a series of pads embedded in it, which wirelessly transmitted up to 20 kilowatts of power to receivers installed in the undersides of two Renault Kangoo ZE electric vehicles driving overhead. The technology was able to charge the vehicles' batteries at speeds of over 100 km/h (62 mph), with them travelling in either direction.

The DEVC system is being developed as part of the €9 million European Union FABRIC project Renault

Further testing will be conducted by Vedecom, and is intended to address issues such as vehicle identification and authorization upon entering the track, power level agreement between track and vehicle, plus variations in speed and alignment of the vehicle as it travels along the track.

The DEVC system is being developed as part of the €9 million European Union FABRIC (FeAsiBility analysis and development of on-Road chargIng solutions for future electriC vehicles) project, which is made up of 25 partnering organizations.

Source: Renault