Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in late February demonstrated a 20-kilowatt bi-directional wireless charging system installed on a UPS medium-duty, plug-in hybrid electric delivery truck. The project is the first of its kind to achieve power transfer at this rate across an 11-inch air gap, advancing the technology to a new class of larger vehicles with higher ground clearance. UPS Demo rear view ORNL’s wireless charging technology transferred power between the truck and a charging pad across the 11-inch gap using two electromagnetic coupling coils at the demonstration. The system transferred electricity from the power grid to the vehicle battery terminals at more than 92% efficiency. At a 20-kilowatt level, it would take about three hours to charge the vehicle’s 60-kilowatt-hour battery packs. Conventional wired charging typically takes between five to six hours using the existing onboard charging system. With its bi-directional design, […]