CIRCE achieves for the first time ultra-fast power transfer without wires
The Aragonese technology center CIRCE has just achieved a milestone in the field of wireless power transfer. The center has developed the first system capable of transferring power wirelessly at 300 kW, tripling the capacity achieved two years ago.
This breakthrough opens the door to ultra-fast inductive charging of heavy electric vehicles, allowing these vehicles to be charged with a 60% reduction in time compared to current systems and without the need to connect any cables. In addition, the system improves driver usability and has a minimal impact on urban infrastructures and furniture as it is underground. This new achievement has been obtained within the framework of the European NIWE project, funded by the European Commission through the Horizon 2020 program, and whose trajectory concludes this week after five years of life. Specifically, within this project, the solution developed by CIRCE has been validated in the metallurgical industry feeding furnaces for iron smelting by induction.
Public transport, companies of any sector, and homes, the great beneficiaries of this type of wireless charging
In addition to being able to extend the new inductive charging prototype to other industries, its application in the short term is especially designed for charging large electric vehicles - such as trucks or buses - wirelessly for both urban and interurban journeys.
Operation is based on the circulation of electric current between two coils - one on the ground and the other on the vehicle itself - generating a magnetic field which, when a vehicle is placed on top of it, starts to charge without the need for cables or connections.
The system, being underground, has a minimal visual impact on the image of the city and greatly facilitates usability by consumers. Induction charging has an enormous field of application, from systems for public transport, delivery companies, private homes to the industrial environment, where this type of charging facilitates the automation of processes, providing a more stable and robust element than a network of conductive cables.
The solution developed within the NIWE project represents another step forward, adding to the results achieved in the UNPLUGGED project, in which CIRCE worked until 2015. In that project, a modular system was proposed to power systems of 25 kW or 50 kW, depending on the type of vehicle accessing the charging system. The advancement in this case is that the new, more powerful solution is specifically designed for heavy vehicles, significantly reducing the charging time.
