EEVblog 1584 - Wireless Freakin' EV Charging Roads! A $250M Boondoggle

[EEVblog]

The US Department of Transport have authorised a $250M grant program to fund Wireless EV charging roads. A look at the pilot program in Detroit Michigan with the startup company Electreon:
https://electreon.com/

00:00 - Wireless EV road charging in Detroit
01:15 - $250M funding from the US Department of Transport!
03:18 - The inductive road coil
05:29 - This project is a half arsed approach to EV costs.
06:50 - Petrol/Gas vs Electric EV charging, still no contest.
07:14 - Reminds me of Adam Something and his take on Electric Busses
08:21 - Electreon gets UN Approval!
09:02 - Private company tech in roads?
09:41 - The location in Detroit
10:53 - The Chicken & Egg problem
13:52 - The problems are many
16:57 - Let's watch the Electreon marketing video
18:16 - The EV retrofit is EASY!
20:25 - The motherload of wireless charging failure analysis document from DOT!
26:41 - They make it sound so easy!
27:56 - They want these on consumer EV's, LOL!

Reference Links:
DOT failure analysis report: https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/57152
https://www.forbes.com/sites/billkoenig/2023/12/01/wireless-charging-for-electric-vehicles-may-be-advancing/?sh=5aa369e81d5f
https://apnews.com/press-release/business-wire/technology-europe-middle-east-business-israel-1894c77ba274467a8fd29373a1da4a0c
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/redefining-green-transportation-new-federal-bill-boosts-wireless-ev-charging-program-301894508.html
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/autos/2023/11/29/detroit-road-electreon-charge-ev-14th-street/71728909007/
https://apnews.com/article/wireless-roadway-electric-vehicle-charging-detroit-22fcdeabd026d81712a0c1a12b190d9a
https://stevens.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-stevens-introduces-bill-expand-wireless-ev-charging-programs-federal-level
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenrg.2022.926270/full
https://www.designboom.com/technology/ev-charging-highways-electreon-wireless-electric-vehicles-sweden-italy-05-24-2021/

https://www.theautopian.com/toyota-electreon-roads/
https://meticulousblog.org/top-10-companies-in-wireless-electric-vehicle-ev-charging-systems-market/
https://www.meticulousresearch.com/product/wireless-electric-vehicle-charging-systems-market-5178
https://australasiantransportresearchforum.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/ATRF2022_Resubmission_32.pdf
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-63101889
https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1493137

[.RC.]

I might have missed it, but another point is the availability of enough copper to build them in the first place.

I wonder what the next crazy idea will be.   Solar panels in pools.   They refract the light leading to greater solar panel efficiency. Surely there is a few million in that idea.

[golden_labels]

Meanwhile in Warsaw the public transport already has a convenient and working charging solution:

• https://maps.app.goo.gl/cMnVDRnbbXwyGwsx7
• https://maps.app.goo.gl/qryqpWnnufmBhW3y8
• https://www.ztm.waw.pl/inwestycje/budowa-petli-przy-ulicy-j-ostroroga/

But yeah… a simple 130 year old device does not sound modern enough!

[user325153]

Proposed solution with capacitive transfer every quarter mile

[golden_labels]

The thing is that with vehicle fleets used to provide services you usually don’t have to charge them en route. In particular within cities. Their standard mode of operation includes inactivity periods. These are natural spots to do charging. Without employing complicated, proprietary, and expensive technology.

[Marco]

Inductive it will probably be expensive, if it needs litz coils forget about it. Even if you could use some kind of roll to roll process it's going to require quite an intricate structure.

Capacitive though could be done with very regular large structures. Roads are expensive, putting a roll of some shaped aluminium film beneath it isn't going to make it much more expensive. Safety might be an issue, since it will require a couple kV.

The chicken and egg problem is solved if the same system is used for residential charging instead of charging poles.

[golden_labels]

Tom Scott just tested another option. While I’m not in favor of this specific implementation, the idea offers instant charging and seems to be actually working:

[thm_w]

Tom Scott just tested another option. While I’m not in favor of this specific implementation, the idea offers instant charging and seems to be actually working:

Might work well for buses or long haul trucks if they are in operation 24/7.
I would not want that on a car though..

[golden_labels]

Ha, wireless freakin’ charging roads have an advantage over the pantograph solution! But only if the designers aren’t thinking well.

The system I mentioned above, from Warsaw, failed this winter. Ice on top of the pick-up shoe prevented charging.

The designers thought about winter conditions and added heating elements. But they are on the shoe itself and can only be turned on when charging is already in progres…