Interest in Wireless Charging Is Growing

As the growth of vehicle electrification continues and gradually eliminates the need for a trip to the gas pump, how to get energy into a battery becomes an increasing topic of interest. One potential solution that’s been around for a long time but has gained minimal adoption to date is wireless power transfer (WPT). The added convenience of WPT for consumers certainly holds appeal, while some types of commercial vehicles can also benefit from not having to plug in.

WPT has been commonplace in many consumer electronic devices such as smartphones and electric toothbrushes for years, but it has yet to gain a foothold in the automotive space, in part due to an early lack of standards and power limitations. SAE International released the J2954 and J2954/2 standards that enable interoperability among WPT devices from multiple manufacturers in 2020 for light duty EVs (LDEVs) and in 2022 for heavy duty EVs (HDEVs) respectively. The J2954 standard includes support for LDEV charging at 3.7 kw, 7.7 kw, and 11 kw, which is comparable to most Level 2 AC charging systems, while J2954/2 offers guidelines for charging at up to 500 kw for HDEVs.

Unlike a phone or a toothbrush that can be placed directly onto a charging pad, EV charging poses some unique challenges. In most cases, there is an air gap between the charging transmitter pad on the ground and the corresponding receiver plate on the vehicle. This reduces efficiency and creates a need for safety measures to automatically disable charging if anything passes between the pads.

In the LDEV space, Massachusetts-based WiTricity is the market leader, but even so, the company only has two early programs with automakers. In 2019, BMW launched a pilot program to offer a WiTricity charging system on the 5 Series plug-in hybrid in Germany and later California. In 2022, Genesis began offering a WiTricity charging system as an option on the GV60 EV in South Korea.

Due to the air gap, it’s important to ensure proper alignment between the pads for maximum efficiency and charging rates. Continental has shown off a concept that would utilize the vehicle’s driver assistance or automation system to automatically drive the vehicle into the correct position. During CES 2023 in Las Vegas, Stellantis unveiled a concept version of its upcoming Ram 1500 electric pickup truck that employs a different approach to alignment. The Ram Charger system uses a tethered robotic transmitter pad that drives itself under the receiver when the truck is parked. It resembles a robotic vacuum cleaner with a cord hanging off the end for power.

Once positioned, the Ram Charger lifts up the transmitter plate to bring it into contact with the receiver, eliminating the safety issues associated with anything getting between the plates and also overcoming the challenge of trucks’ higher ground clearance. While it’s unknown whether the Ram Charger conforms to SAE J2954, the robotic nature of the design could prove appealing to customers with multiple vehicles, such as fleets with many trucks or even home users.

In combination with a fleet management system that monitors vehicles’ state of charge, something like the Ram Charger could be automated to charge multiple vehicles based on their state of charge and schedules for when they need to be back on the road. The contact nature of the design could also safely support higher power levels for faster charging times.

Stellantis hasn’t said whether it plans to offer the Ram Charger system when the Ram 1500 REV goes into production in late 2024, but since the automaker has multiple EVs coming to market, it would be worth consideration. As a relative latecomer to the EV market in North America, Stellantis could leverage the unique offering to grab some market share.

For more information about the EV charging market, including wireless charge point sales forecasts, check out Guidehouse Insights’ new EV Charging Technologies Forecast Database.