Vattenfall to trial wireless EV charging in Sweden

A fleet of taxis in Gothenburg is set to trial a new form of subscription-based wireless EV charging that could stand to change how charging infrastructure is implemented into streets and homes.

Pioneered by Swedish state-owned energy firm Vattenfall in collaboration with Volvo Cars and taxi operator Cabonline - effectively a Nordic version of Uber - the tech will see a series of induction charging that involves a vehicle parking over a charging pad embedded into a street. This pad then sends a signal to charge through a receiver in the car.

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The feasibility study will take place at two locations in the city, and comes as the public and private sectors continue to scramble for space for charging units, which has raised concerns over how a lack of accessible charging will affect the adoption of electric vehicles as many European economies continue to ponder combustion engine bans.

The cars, set to be supplied by Volvo and used by Cabonline, will be used for more than 12-hours per day and drive as much as 100,000 km (62,137 miles) per year to test for durability.

Payment for the ports is done electronically. Once the receiver identifies the signal, authorisation is sent to Vattenfall which calculates the payment due, which is handled once per month.

The energy company described it as a "power-as-a-service" model, mimicking current trends in the tech sector towards subscription-based services.

If the feasibility study proves successful, further trials - and later rollout - will be done in places such as the UK, which has already vowed to ban fully-petrol and diesel cars by 2030. Since only hybrids and electric vehicles will be permitted for sale past this deadline, the race is on to get as many hubs set up as possible for the transition.

Estimates suggest that as many as one-third of households could lack access to off-street charging, and with EV sales numbers soaring across Europe, several schemes have arisen to attempt to tackle these challenges head-on.

“At Vattenfall, we always strive to improve ease of use and customer experience. To be able to test new technology in close collaboration across industries and organisations brings great value for future development and to work towards fossil-free living.” Vattenfall's director of e-mobility Susanna Hurting said.

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In addition to the major partners, supplying the tech and cabs, Vattenfall has also secured help from hardware supplier Momentum Dynamics, Göteborg Energi and the development agency Business Region Gothenburg.

The team hope that pooling resources is the easiest way to success and could lead to significant breakthroughs and provide answers to long-term charging issues across Europe.

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