From the University of Colorado, Boulder comes the pioneering feasibility of electric cars that could recharge while you’re driving without having to be plugged in!
And how could they possibly achieve this feat?
Well according to Khurram Afridi, an assistant professor in CU Boulder’s Department of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering and his colleagues a proof of concept for wireless power transfer that transfers electrical energy through electric fields at very high frequencies has been developed. This means that one day, large amounts of energy could be sent across great physical distances to in-motion platforms from low-cost charging plates. It would be an expansion of similar technology used in phones to vehicles.
For now, depending on the type, electric vehicles can travel between 100 to 250 miles on a single charge, unfortunately, stations to recharge are still very few and far in-between. But, with the implementation of this technology, it would no longer be a problem.
The result would be vehicles carrying smaller onboard batteries as they could charge on the go; “On a highway, you could have one lane dedicated to charging,” said Afridi and he added that the total cost of the vehicle would be subsequently reduced. An electric field to easily recharge in-motion vehicles is on its way. It’s more cost-effective than the magnetic field and vehicles would only need to be on the charging pad for about a fraction of a second says Afridi.
The prototype needs to be scaled for potential real-world applications and Afridi plans to continue developing it. Funds from the Department of Energy’s ARPA-E division and support from a National Science Foundation CAREER award have been received by Afridi. So also, has a seed grant from the Colorado Energy Research Collaboratory been awarded to Afridi in partnership with Colorado State University and NREL to explore this technology optimally.
