Volvo has announced that it will test wireless charging systems with its Volvo XC40 Recharge electric SUVs. It does this by creating a small fleet of XC40 Recharge taxis for Cabonline, the largest taxi company in the Nordic countries.
The tests in Volvo’s hometown of Gothenburg, Sweden, will last three years, and Volvo notes that driving conditions involve 12 hours a day, with cars covering 100,000 kilometers (about 62,000 miles) per year.
The charging stations come from the American company Momentum Dynamics. Embedded in the pavement of the Volvo’s parking lots, they automatically start charging when parked correctly (which is assisted by the built-in surround-view camera). The charging speed is 40 kW, which is close to the maximum charging speed of the on-board chargers of many electric cars when connected to a DC station. Interestingly, Momentum Dynamics lists systems on its website that can achieve charging speeds of up to 450 kW.
Volvo has not made any announcements about the future availability of wireless charging. We can imagine that the results of these tests will influence whether the company plans to make it a factory offering.
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