EV ranges continue to grow longer, but when they’re out of juice, you still have to plug them in. Tesla could be hoping to change all that, however, if newly published patents are anything to go by.
The news comes to us from EV commentator Sawyer Merritt, who posted on Twitter regarding the recent development. The company filed four patents earlier this year regarding wireless EV charging technology, with the patents published on September 7.
What does this mean? Soon enough, you might be able to forget about plugging in your NACS charger at home. If this technology comes to market, you could simply pull your Tesla into the garage and let it suck up the juice wirelessly. Let’s examine the detail.
NEWS: Tesla has filed four patents related to a wireless charging mat for vehicles. This mat is something the car will drive over and it will automatically start charging. While it's not clear what Teslas will use this, presumably Tesla's upcoming Robotaxi will utilize this… https://t.co/jyr5RX0EmI pic.twitter.com/MSdqc9jCoT
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) September 7, 2024
The four patents, filed with the World Intellectual Property Organization, concern different aspects of wireless charging for electric vehicles. The first is entitled Parameter Estimation for Wireless Charging, and concerns the basic technological outline of the wireless charging system. The others concern the use of temperature sensors in the wireless charging system, a shorting switch for control of leakage currents for efficiency’s sake, and an outline of the wireless charging circuit topology and manufacturing methods.
The basic idea, as with most wireless charging solutions, is that the vehicle will be charged via inductive energy transfer. In this case, that is achieved by running a great deal of electrical energy through a coil embedded in a wireless charging mat on the ground. The vehicle in turn will have its own coil, which is able to receive energy from the magnetic field generated by the coil, in turn using it to charge the battery.
The key, of course, is in the details. Tesla has likely figured out a way to achieve this wireless energy transfer at a decent power level for charging in an acceptable time frame. Efficiency is also key, as the inductive energy transfer is less efficient than simply pumping electricity into the car via a direct wired connection (conduction vs induction). At this stage, the finer engineering details—voltages, frequencies—of how Tesla is pursuing wireless charging are not apparent.
This isn’t the first we’ve heard of this, of course. Tesla teased a wireless charging solution for its vehicles at its Investor Day event back in 2023. The image released appeared to show a Tesla vehicle parking over a small dark-colored mat that could apparently charge the vehicle, suggesting a wireless induction charging method. Notably, the mat in the image appears very similar to the one drawn in the patents—note the chamfered edges that are common to both.
Oh, and remember when Munro & Associates talked about extra unused high voltage ports on Tesla batteries? It turns out there was a hint in Tesla service manuals available as early at March this year—they were designated as “inductive charger” headers. So this has been in the works for some time.
Inductive charging
From service manual: pic.twitter.com/qKjuqDvVBC— FH -Y Booster (@minusYCore) March 21, 2024
Interestingly, we’ve seen others making moves in this space, too. Two months ago, The Autopian reported on efforts by Oak Ridge National Laboratory to wirelessly charge a Porsche Taycan at rates of up to 270 kW.
While successful, the Oak Ridge project remains at the laboratory stage, and has not been rolled out into any sort of commercial product. However, it’s an excellent demonstration of just how fast wireless EV charging could be in the near future.
Right now, there’s no word as to Tesla’s future moves in the wireless charging space. This could be something that hits the market in the next year or two. Indeed, the fact that some vehicles already feature connector provisions for inductive charging is a positive sign. However, nothing can be said to be confirmed until product hits the market. In any case, it’s a clear sign that Tesla is serious about wireless charging going forward—and that’s an exciting prospect.
The question is: How valuable would you, as a consumer, find this technology?
Image credits: WIPO, Tesla
Wireless charging for a PHEV would be that much closer to the ideal solution for many people. Zero effort charging for the first 50km of range, gas station for the rest (and much less frequently).
The reason we know this is still ten years out? Elon hasn’t xeeted that it’ll be out before the end of the year.
We’ve gone full circle and RETVRNED to Magne Charge.
I wonder if they can raise the efficiency by having the pad lift itself up (like a built in scissor lift) after charging starts, to reduce distance.
Another shiny don’t take your eye off the cup Musky shell game. Likely expected delivery date 10+ years if ever.
My main concern is how these operate in rainy or snowy environments. Also deal with metal debris, child’s toys, pets and other nonsense that could get between the charging pad and the vehicle charging spot. Could be easy to vandalize/sabotage by simply chucking a metal spoon at it.
Why don’t we go back to those Nikola Tesla towers that radiate lightning bolts and make everything just magically electrified?
Wireless charging for cars is a lot of effort and money for little benefit. Don’t be lazy, just plug the car in. It’s not like the coils are cheap, so it’s not going to alleviate cost issues for public charging deployment. It’s just idle thoughts.
Wireless charging makes a lot more sense in places where people wouldn’t/shouldn’t be present, like a battle field or hostile territory. But there are already multiple non-consumer facing companies in that field doing this with 90+% efficiency.
And when the cat finds the nice warm pad to lay on under the car?
“The question is: How valuable would you, as a consumer, find this technology?”
“Exceptionally” if it can be embedded in roadways to charge vehicles on the fly at a reasonable cost.
Otherwise “meh” to “why bother” depending on the loss of transfer efficiency.