High-Power Wireless Charging Technology

February 14, 2017

Jennifer Shuttleworth

Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s (Oak Ridge, TN) 20-kw wireless charging system has achieved 90% efficiency at three times the rate of the wired charging systems commonly used for electric vehicles today. According to ORNL, this ability can help accelerate the adoption and convenience of electric vehicles. Industry partners such as Toyota, Cisco Systems, Evatran, and Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research contributed to the technology development. ORNL’s power electronics team achieved what they claim is the world’s first 20-kw wireless charging system for passenger vehicles by developing, in less than three years, a unique architecture that included an ORNL-built inverter, isolation transformer, vehicle-side electronics and coupling technologies. When demonstrating the process at ORNL, researchers integrated the single-converter system into an electric Toyota RAV4 equipped with an additional 10-kWh battery. For more information, visit WCX17 Booth 3413 or here .