CU-ICAR, SCTAC collaboration will test plugless, on-the-go EV charging
Clemson’s international automotive Center and the South Carolina Technical and Aviation Center are collaborating to test plugless charging for electric vehicles while on the move.
CU-ICAR also is responsible for testing and validating international technical standards for stationary wireless charging systems, a technology just now making its way to the market.
The collaboration puts CU-ICAR and SCTAC at the center of a technological advance to make EV charging more convenient, accessible and economical. It, too, could lead to smaller and lighter batteries, the holy grail of the budding EV industry.
“This is just the beginning of a larger journey which hopefully will bring more transportation-related R&D activities to the Upstate,” said Joachim Taiber, the Clemson research professor leading the project.
CU-ICAR will conduct the tests and oversee the technology. SCTAC will provide the infrastructure on a 5,500-foot (1.04-mile) runway “redeveloped into a testing track,” said Jody Bryson, president and CEO of SCTAC.
He said the joint venture “marks the next step … in the development of a world–class track infrastructure to support the rapidly emerging clean transportation ecosystem.”
The three-year program is funded under a $1.5-million grant from the Department of Energy. The wireless power transfer technology was developed by DOE’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, which will monitor the testing data. The work began this year.
“It is technology that works like a transformer where you basically have a primary coil and a secondary coil,” explained Taiber. “The primary coil is on the ground and the secondary coil’s in the vehicle, and you charge the vehicle over an air gap.”
If it proves viable as an efficient and fast-charging alternative to stationary plug-in technology, drivers would be able to drive over charging routes “throughout their daily drive,” even at high speeds.
The other major component of the project is to validate stationary wireless systems in which, for example, a residential garage or parking deck or lot has embedded primary coils and the undercarriage of the EV has the secondary coil.
“Basically, you drive into the garage; and as the coils are aligned, power is transferred. You don’t have to actively think about connecting the vehicle to the power grid,” Taiber said. “You can use it outdoors. The technology can be utilized when it is raining.”
The stationary plugless system is already in use, having been co-developed and manufactured by Evatran of Wytheville, Va., under a separate DOE grant. Taiber’s team at CU-ICAR, which has a close relationship with Evatran, conducted the testing.
Last year, Evatran installed prototype stationary wireless systems for the Chevy Volt and the Nissan Leaf at CU-ICAR, Google headquarters, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, Duke Energy and Hertz Corp.
Last month, it introduced it to the commercial after-market in partnership with Bosch, which is providing installation and support. To soften the $3,000 expense, Bosch promises help securing “money-saving rebates offered by utility companies, government or vehicle manufacturers.”
Convenient and reliable wireless “stop and go” and dynamic or in-motion charging could lead to extended range and to smaller batteries, which brings automakers to the table with strong vested interest.
Along with Evatran, Duke Energy and Cisco, GM and Toyota are project partners, and Clemson is working with them “on how to integrate the technology” into their original equipment. Both GM and Toyota have test vehicles with Evatran’s coil receptors.
The focus of CU-ICAR’s role is “on the communication system between the vehicle control system and the control system of the charge on the road,” he said.
“Different test cases will be set up at the SCTAC site with different vehicles. We will confirm how efficient power can be transferred, how reliable and so forth.”
Without a test track at its Millenium campus, Taiber said, the partnership with nearby SCTAC provides a secure environment, access to power and the ability to run test vehicles at high speeds.
SCTAC is a 2,600-acre industrial park that was converted from what had been Donaldson Air Force Base. The runway being fitted for CU-ICAR’s test is the smaller of two runways.
