Wireless electric-vehicle charging technology is to be tested in London.
Chip
developer Qualcomm says plug-in charging is too "cumbersome" and its
tech could lead to batteries being topped up while cars are being
driven.
Trials involving an adapted version of Formula 1 car designer Delta Motorsport's E4 coupe electric car will take place before the end of the year.
Further tests involving vehicles made by the French manufacturer Renault will follow in 2013.
Smaller batteries
Inductive
charging - which involves using an electromagnetic field to transfer
energy between two objects - is less power-efficient than alternatives
such as charging posts or battery-swapping stations, but Qualcomm says
the difference is only "marginal."
"The adoption of WECV wireless electric vehicle charging] technology will lead to a shift in charging behaviour," said Qualcomm.
"Drivers
will charge their electric vehicle little and often and potentially use
dynamic charging to complement local stationary charging, removing
range anxiety. This means that batteries could be smaller with the
resulting reduction in electric vehicle cost and weight."
Delta said it had become involved to help it learn more about the innovation.
The firm said it expected it to take a day's worth of mechanical modifications to add the new kit to its test vehicles
"It's very straightforward to add the technology," said Delta's technical director Nick Carpenter.
"We
add a vehicle mounted pad which is connected to a Qualcomm controlled
unit which in turn is connected directly to the battery.
"We
also make amendments to our vehicle's touch screen interface to tell
the driver when they are aligned with another pad on the ground to start
the process, and if the car is charging."
The
trial - which is scheduled to start around November - will see charging
pads placed at Qualcomm's west London office, in the east of the city
close to the Silicon Roundabout tech hub, and at the premises of the
minicab company Addison Lee.
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