Let's be real: Needing to unpack a charging cable, activate the charging station, and plug it in just before grocery shopping for a mere 15 minutes? It's quite cumbersome. To put it another way: We're not used to focusing so intensely on our car's range. With traditional gasoline vehicles, it was simple: Empty tank, fill up in three minutes, and off you go. Induction could pave the way for hassle-free intermittent EV charging – automatic and thoughtless. MAHLE has now unveiled its solution.
We're familiar with the technology from charging our phones, which is now available in cars: place on top, charge, done.
BMW first achieved success in wireless energy transfer for vehicle battery charging with their production vehicle, the 530e, in 2018. Although their proprietary system had a charging capacity of 3.6 kW, a lack of standardization at the time prevented mass production.
As with the charging connector, whether for phones or cars, we need a standardized solution for all brands for the technology to prevail.
MAHLE's pre-development team has long been focused on wireless charging and has now presented a solution. In collaboration with Siemens, the MAHLE team, responsible for both pre-development and production in Valencia, created an entire system encompassing infrastructure (the transmitter) and vehicle tech (the receiver). This closes the previously open standardization gap, enabling series implementation.
The benefits are clear: no wear and tear, no dangling cables, and no risk of incorrect use. With the inductive charging system, a transmitting coil is positioned at the parking space's base, possibly in a garage or parking structure. A magnetic field established by this coil facilitates energy transfer in the car's receiving coil, charging the battery.
This is akin to wirelessly charging a phone, but with a charging capacity of 11 kW and an efficiency of over 92%. By comparison, cable charging boasts an efficiency of up to 94%. An impressive figure.
See how it works in this video:
Additionally, MAHLE has designed a durable positioning system, resilient to environmental factors like ice, water, snow, leaves, and manhole covers. It ensures vehicles are precisely positioned over the ground transmitter for energy transfer. Even though its requirements resemble those of autonomous parking aids, MAHLE's system is straightforward and reliable. Drivers simply follow the arrow display on their monitor to position their vehicle correctly. The outcome: Park, exit the car, return, and drive away with a charged vehicle – effortlessly and conveniently, all thanks to MAHLE's inductive charging.
The potential of wireless charging spans both private and commercial sectors: homes, workplaces, taxi stands, airports, freight yards, autonomous shuttles – anywhere vehicles/fleets can conveniently and automatically charge their high-voltage batteries. Primarily because the tech is consistently located between the front axle and high-voltage storage, unlike wired connections, which can be mounted on the front, back, left, or right. Thus, the tedious maneuvering at the wallbox or charging post becomes obsolete.