Momentum Dynamics, a wireless charging technology startup, will deliver 200kW wireless charging systems for the municipal bus market by the end of the year.
According to CEO Andrew Daga, the company previously delivered 25 kilowatt (kW) and 50 kW charging systems to strategic partners in the automotive industry in 2015, and said the move to its 200 kW system is a natural progression to meet a critical market need. Even higher power systems are in development.
High power makes for fast charging, which is the key to extending the driving range of electrically powered buses through the use of “on-route” charging. By comparison, the Tesla Supercharger operates at 135 kW, and most EV plug-in chargers operate at less than 10 kW.
“These high power levels are causing a lot of excitement across targeted vertical markets, especially with municipal bus transit agencies where high power is required to keep a municipal bus in operation all day,” said Daga.
Daga said the company is planning to deliver two wireless charging systems to municipal agencies this year in Maryland and Washington state. Wireless chargers use resonant magnetic induction to transfer power without the use of cables. They include the transmitter on the ground and a power receiver mounted to the underside of the vehicle. Despite an air gap of up to 12”, the efficiency of inductive charging is equivalent to plug-in charging.
More and more transit agencies are looking to replace aging fossil fuel vehicles with electric vehicles to reduce operating costs. While fuel savings is one reason for the switch, anti-pollution regulations are the compelling factor.
The influential California Air Resources Board (CARB) works to promote the effective and efficient reduction of toxic emissions. CARB’s regulations provide the standard followed by many other states in helping to reduce air pollution.
High power combined with automatic operation under all weather conditions reduces the fueling operation to a background operation that the driver cannot neglect. “Fast automatic charging will enable the EV market to grow faster. It is completely autonomous, carefree and safe,” Daga said.
