'Mats' to charge cars on move

Electric cars can be charged by HaloIPT rubber induction pads, developed at the University of Auckland. Photo / Supplied

Farmers have known about it for decades. Theoretically, they can steal electricity wirelessly from the overhead cables that travel through pylons on their land.

"It was anecdotally a nifty way to nick power," says Dr Anthony Thomson whose company, HaloIPT, has launched the world's first commercially available wireless charging for cars.

HaloIPT is using the same technological knowledge to charge electric vehicles. Simply park over a HaloIPT induction pad, which looks a bit like a rubber mat, and begin charging. It cuts out the hassle of using a charging cable, which car manufacturers know put off people buying electric vehicles.

If HaloIPT has its way, eventually pads will be built into roads and cars will recharge by simply driving over them.

HaloIPT uses technology developed by professor John Boyd at the University of Auckland in the 1990s. It's a surprisingly simple concept that was first discovered in the 1880s, and is increasingly being used for everyday devices, from electric toothbrushes to inductive cooktops.

The theory is that an electrical current produces a magnetic field, and that a coil placed in this field will generate voltage. HaloIPT uses the magnetic field to transfer power from a pad into electric vehicle batteries without wires.

Boyd worked on a prototype electric bus system used at Whakarewarewa in Rotorua in 1996, and the technology was subsequently licensed for use in the Italian cities of Genoa and Turin. The beauty of the HaloIPT system is that it is battery and car-agnostic, meaning it can charge any battery in any car that carries the wireless technology. HaloIPT's parent, University of Auckland's UniServices, has commercialised Boyd's wireless charging technology, licensing it for industrial services to partners including Japan's Daifuku Company.

The company has already sold a number of high-value prototypes to car manufacturers and has others on loan, Thomson says.

Car companies such as Toyota are already producing electric cars. However, the manufacturers have found that car drivers are put off by the hassle of having to plug their vehicles in - suffering "charge anxiety" and "range anxiety", Thomson says.

The HaloIPT wireless technology should alleviate that.

Once pads are embedded in roads and other places such as parking buildings, drivers could then choose tariffs to suit them. They may, for example, charge up overnight using low-cost power and pay a higher rate for on-the-fly charging.

The company expects that the early adopters of the technology will be fleet users such as couriers, taxis and delivery vans, and also enthusiasts. HaloIPT already has two prototype cars operating in London.

HaloIPT and United Kingdom-based partner Arup are currently in talks with municipalities in London and other European cities to build prototype infrastructure projects burying the pads into asphalt and charging bays.

Although the technology is homegrown, New Zealand is behind the eight-ball when it comes to electric cars. It is also a far smaller market than those HaloIPT is eyeing up overseas.

Initially, wireless charging will probably be more expensive than running a vehicle on diesel or petrol. The tipping point is expected to be the year 2020, Thomson says. By then the matrix of increased petrol prices, reduced vehicle purchase prices and government subsidies and taxes will bring the cost of purchasing an electric car down to that of diesel and petrol models.

Already the UK government is launching a subsidy of up to £5000 ($10,100) off new electric cars from next year, which is expected to push sales to 8600 new vehicles purchased in that country in 2011.

HaloIPT isn't set up for mass production. The business plan is to develop the hardware, negotiate contracts with infrastructure project providers such as governments, and to sell licences for production.

"We don't consider we would ever be a tier-one supplier," Thomson says.

New technology always has its detractors. Probably the biggest issue for the public is safety, he says. But, among other things, the charging pads have "mammal sensors", which means if your cat crawls under the car it won't be electrocuted.

Sceptics question whether inductive charging will win over plug-in power and battery-swapping refuelling stations being proposed in the United States.