Although the development speed and market share of new energy vehicles have increased rapidly, there are still problems of "charging difficulties" and "mileage anxiety". In some areas, due to the lack of supporting facilities, the above problems even have a tendency to intensify.
"Several men fought in front of a charging pile, one of the men clung to the charging gun, in order to avoid the charging gun being robbed and did not hesitate to lie on the ground" "In the high-speed traffic jam, the driver was worried that the battery of the new energy vehicle could not hold up, did not dare to turn on the air conditioner, and sat on the side of the road to cool off"...
Every peak travel season, such scenes always appear on major traffic arteries across the country from time to time. In fact, as long as many people drive an electric car, they will tighten the string of "finding a place to charge".
"There are more than 500 kilometers from Chengdu to Chongqing, even if the new car with a driving range of more than 700 kilometers, if the air conditioner is turned on, it is still necessary to find a charging pile in the middle, and often encounters a situation of waiting in line." Sometimes on rainy days, the charging gun will leak, which is also a safety hazard. Mr. Lu, who works in Chongqing, has his home in Chengdu and drives his own electric car home almost every week, and he has a deep experience of charging anxiety.
Although the development speed and market share of new energy vehicles have increased rapidly, there are still problems such as "charging difficulties" and "mileage anxiety". In some areas, due to the lack of supporting facilities, the above problems have even become more and more serious.
Just when the new energy automobile industry is still arguing about the advantages and disadvantages of charging and replacing, a new way of replenishing energy - wireless charging has entered people's field of vision and is close to large-scale application.
The reporter learned that at present, for the wireless power transmission system itself, whether it is power conversion, system control or magnetic field environment, technical problems have been effectively solved and tend to mature.
Statistics show that by the end of 2021, there will be a total of 1.147 million public charging piles in the mainland, of which 470,000 are DC fast charging piles and 677,000 are AC charging piles. If private charging piles are added, the total amount reaches 2.61 million units. However, the inconvenience of charging still plagues a considerable number of electric vehicle users. Wireless charging is a solution that emerges in this context.
Recently, Volvo officials said that it is jointly developing with partners to test the wireless charging function of the vehicle in the urban use environment, and is expected to promote the application within 3 years.
The reporter learned that this wireless charging technology only needs to charge the vehicle to stop on the wireless charging device embedded in the road, which can automatically start the charging function, and the driver does not need to get off the car, and the operation is convenient and fast.
The on-board 360° panoramic image allows the car to be easily aligned with the wireless charging device. The wireless charging power can exceed 40 kilowatts, and the charging speed is comparable to that of 50 kilowatts DC fast charging pile, which is about 4 times faster than the wired 11 kilowatt AC charging pile.
In the view of many people in the industry, the introduction of policies and the formulation of national standards will solve the problem of interchangeability involved in the commercialization of wireless charging products, which is very necessary to open up the "blockage" of wireless charging facilities.
"Trying out exciting new technologies in a real-world environment and testing new charging technologies with selected partners is a great way to evaluate our future alternative charging options for cars." On the subject, Mats Moberg, Head of Research and Development at Volvo Cars, said.
In fact, many car companies are aiming at the field of wireless charging, in 2021, Huawei will disclose a patent called "a wireless charging parking recommended method and system". The Zhiji L7 also announced support for 11 kW wireless charging. Volkswagen, Toyota, FAW, Geely, BYD and other mainstream car companies at home and abroad have launched the research and development and layout of wireless charging technology.
"At present, there are three types of charging methods defined in the industry: one is conductive charging using a charging gun, one is power exchange, and the other is wireless charging." Liu Yongdong, director of the Standardization Management Center of the China Electricity Council, said.
Liu Yongdong said that from the perspective of the development of the new energy automobile industry, among the three charging methods, conductive charging has been comprehensively promoted, and various technologies have ushered in prosperity and development; the upper outlet of the power station is being followed by preparation for a big punch; as for wireless charging, it is still in the process of industrialization.
The reporter learned that at present, for the wireless power transmission system itself, whether it is power conversion, system control or magnetic field environment, technical problems have been effectively solved and tend to mature.
Recently, Volvo officials said that it is jointly developing with partners to test the wireless charging function of the vehicle in the urban use environment, and is expected to promote the application within 3 years.
Although the wireless charging technology for vehicles has many advantages, there is still a certain distance from large-scale commercial promotion.
Due to the complexity and harsh working conditions of wireless charging application scenarios for electric vehicles, most of the current technical difficulties focus on auxiliary functions (such as foreign object monitoring, organism detection, and positioning alignment). Therefore, wireless charging products must undergo a lot of environmental tests and real vehicle verification, and also need a lot of customer feedback, continuous optimization and improvement, in order to truly put into the market.
Especially with the popularization of wireless charging technology for electric vehicles, there are more and more system suppliers, the models covered are getting wider and wider, and the use scenarios are more diverse, so solving the interoperability between different brands of products has become the focus and difficulty of standard development.
"It is foreseeable that the interoperability of systems (including wireless power transmission systems and auxiliary functions) will become the main goal to be achieved by relevant domestic and foreign standards in the future." Liu Yongdong said bluntly.
It is worth noting that the problem of "mileage anxiety" has received attention from the industry and the government in recent years, and the exploration of various charging modes, including wireless charging, has been supported by policies.
The "New Energy Vehicle Industry Development Plan (2021-2035)" issued by the General Office of the State Council proposes to strengthen the research and development of new charging technologies such as intelligent and orderly charging, high-power charging, and wireless charging.
With the popularization of wireless charging technology for electric vehicles, there are more and more system suppliers, the models covered are getting wider and wider, and the use scenarios are more diverse, so solving the interoperability between different brands of products has become the focus and difficulty of standard development.
At the beginning of 2022, the National Development and Reform Commission and other departments issued the "Implementation Opinions on Further Improving the Service Guarantee Capacity of Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure", which proposed to promote the research and development of new technologies such as wireless charging and automatic unmanned charging. Wireless charging has entered the vision of national planning and management departments, which has created more possibilities for its future development. At the same time, the formulation of relevant standards is also being promoted.
In the view of many people in the industry, the introduction of policies and the formulation of national standards will solve the problem of interchangeability involved in the commercialization of wireless charging products, which is very necessary to open up the "blockage" of wireless charging facilities.
"The research and development of new energy vehicles will develop in the direction of lightweight, comfort and intelligence. The advantages of wireless charging technology for electric vehicles make it seamlessly combined with technologies such as intelligent driving, which has become the future development trend of electric vehicles. Liu Yongdong predicts that perhaps in the near future, in the L3 level and above level of autonomous vehicles, wireless charging can become the standard, to achieve real commercial landing.
Source: China Youth Daily (April 28, 12th edition)
Zhang Zhenqi, a reporter of China Youth Daily and China Youth Network
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