Mention wireless charging, I believe that most people will not be strangers, now more and more smart phones support this function, just put the mobile phone on the charging base, do not plug and unplug the charging cable, the mobile phone can be charged, convenient and convenient.
A previous report released by research firm Strategy Analytics pointed out that it is expected that by the end of 2021, 1 billion smartphones worldwide will support wireless charging.
Compared with mobile phone wireless charging has entered a large-scale popularization stage, another major application scenario of wireless charging - electric vehicles, but the development progress is relatively slow. Although a number of car companies have previously demonstrated and tested wireless charging technology, there are few large-scale industrial applications.
Volvo Cars recently announced that it is working with a number of partners to develop a new wireless charging technology and integrate and test it on urban roads to evaluate its potential for future pure electric vehicle products.
This news once again pushed the topic of wireless charging of automobiles to the forefront, with the continuous improvement of the penetration rate of electric vehicles, can wireless charging technology usher in its own "spring"?
Volvo's latest wireless charging technology can reach 40kW
At present, the common charging method of electric vehicles is the wired charging of charging piles, which can be divided into fast charging and slow charging, both of which need to be connected by wired. Wireless charging means that the owner can plug and unplug the charging gun without getting out of the car, which can realize senseless automatic charging.
As far as Volvo's wireless charging test is concerned, the charging vehicle only needs to stop on the wireless charging device embedded in the road to automatically start the charging function, and the driver does not need to get out of the car, and the operation is convenient and fast.
Specifically, the charging station transmits electricity through a wireless charging device, which in turn receives electricity through a receiver in the car, while Volvo Cars uses a 360° panoramic image to easily align the car with the wireless charging device.
For the Volvo XC40 Pure Electric Edition, this wireless charging power can exceed 40kW, and the charging speed is comparable to the 50kW DC fast charging pile, which is about four times faster than the wired 11kW AC charging pile.
The Volvo XC40 is expected to have an average daily driving time of more than 12 hours and an average annual mileage of 100,000 kilometers, which is also the first time that Volvo Cars has tested the durability of pure electric products in commercial scenarios.
To develop wireless charging technology, Volvo invested in Momentum Dynamics in 2019, which is a leader in high-power wireless charging technology for electric vehicles. The wireless charging system tested by Volvo is provided by the company.
In fact, not only Volvo Cars, but also many car companies in the industry have already laid out and developed wireless charging technology.
As early as 2011, Japanese car companies Nissan and Toyota made important progress in wireless charging technology, of which Nissan planned to implement this technology on the 2014 Leaf, and it also became the first car manufacturer in the world to clearly formulate a wireless charging schedule.
In 2014, mercedes-benz and BMW two major luxury car giants came together to cooperate on the research and development of wireless charging technology for electric vehicles, Mercedes-Benz will test based on the new S-class, and BMW plans to take the lead in applying it to the i8.
In China, BYD applied for a patent for a non-contact inductive charger in 2005, and the new car-making forces such as Weilai published an invention patent called "wireless charging device and its coil switching method and related device" in March 2021, and the application date of this patent was in April 2017.
In addition to car companies, communication technology companies such as Qualcomm, ZTE, and Siemens, as well as professional wireless charging developers such as WiTricity, have also developed wireless charging technology.
Wireless charging will become standard in driverless cars
Although many companies in the industry have laid out wireless charging technology, there are few models on the market that support wireless charging, not to mention large-scale landing. In the process of the industrialization of wireless charging, there are still some obstacles.
The first is the standard problem, before the different standards of various enterprises, there will be a situation of fighting for each other, it is difficult to unify. It not only causes a great waste of resources, but also brings obstacles to the convenience of consumers.
Fortunately, in 2020, the mainland released the wireless charging standard GB/T 38775 series of standards for electric vehicles, including four basic common standards, including general requirements, communication protocols between vehicle chargers and wireless charging devices, special requirements, and electromagnetic environment limits and test methods. This is also the first national standard in the field of wireless charging of electric vehicles in the mainland, although there are only four contents, which are not perfect, but it has filled the gap of relevant domestic standards.
Secondly, the cost and efficiency problem, wireless charging equipment in order to ensure transmission efficiency, the size of the coil used are larger, not only the cost is higher, but also the maintenance cost is large. To truly realize the large-scale commercialization of wireless charging of electric vehicles, it is necessary to improve efficiency and reduce costs.
Finally, it comes to safety issues, although studies have shown that the magnetic field used by electromagnetic resonance of wireless charging is similar to the earth's magnetic field, which has no impact on human health, but some people still have concerns and resistance to whether wireless charging will produce radiation, and the wide acceptance of the audience also needs a process.
Of course, these problems cannot be solved overnight, and the development and growth of new technologies is destined to go through a bumpy and arduous road.
Wireless charging frees the driver's hands to a certain extent, eliminating the process of getting out of the car and picking up the charging gun and inserting it into the charging port. But its role does not stop there, through wireless charging can be completely unified charging specifications and interfaces, and wireless charging equipment installed on the ground, more than wired charging layout can save space, in addition to it can solve the charging pile leakage problem.
What's more, wireless charging will be one of the necessary technologies for future driverless cars. In the process of the development of automobiles to high-level autonomous driving, the system gradually replaces humans and becomes the dominant driver driving vehicles. Only by making wireless charging technology the standard for driverless cars and realizing sensorless automatic energy can we completely liberate people's hands and realize true unmanned driving.
Che Yun Summary:
Just recently, an absolute milestone event has emerged in the field of unmanned driving.
The U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued the final version of the Driverless Car Passenger Protection Regulations, clarifying that fully autonomous vehicles no longer need to be equipped with manual controls such as traditional steering wheels, brakes or accelerator pedals to meet occupant safety protection standards in collisions, which means that car companies can legally and compliantly produce driverless vehicles without steering wheels and control pedals and put them into commercial use.
Just like driverless cars, wireless charging is also an important direction for the development of future cars. With the further liberalization and improvement of the driverless car policy, wireless charging technology will also usher in its own spring.