Although the development speed and market share of new energy vehicles have increased rapidly, there are still problems of "difficulty in charging" and "range anxiety".

In some areas, due to insufficient supporting facilities, the above problems even tend to intensify.

Photo courtesy of Vision China

  "Several men fought in front of a charging pile. One of them held the charging gun tightly, and lay down on the ground to avoid the charging gun being robbed." "During a high-speed traffic jam, the driver was worried about new energy vehicles. The battery can't hold up, I dare not turn on the air conditioner, and I sit on the roadside to enjoy the cool"...

  During the peak travel season, such scenes always appear on major traffic roads across the country from time to time.

In fact, as long as many people drive an electric car, they will tighten the "find a place to charge" string.

  "It is more than 500 kilometers from Chengdu to Chongqing. Even if it is a new car with a driving range of more than 700 kilometers, if you turn on the air conditioner, you still have to find a charging pile in the middle, and you often encounter waiting in line. Sometimes you will encounter a charging gun on rainy days. Electricity leakage is also a potential safety hazard.” Mr. Lu, who works in Chongqing, lives in Chengdu and drives his electric car home almost every week, so he has a deep understanding of charging anxiety.

  Although the development speed and market share of new energy vehicles have increased rapidly, there are still problems such as "difficulty in charging" and "range anxiety".

In some areas, due to insufficient supporting facilities, the above-mentioned problems have even become more and more serious.

  Just when the new energy vehicle industry is still arguing over the merits of charging and battery swapping, a new energy supplement method, wireless charging, has entered people's field of vision and is approaching large-scale application.

  Statistics show that by the end of 2021, there are 1.147 million public charging piles in my country, including 470,000 DC fast charging piles and 677,000 AC charging piles.

If private charging piles are added, the total will reach 2.61 million units.

However, the inconvenience of charging still plagues a considerable number of electric vehicle users.

Wireless charging is a solution that has emerged in this context.

  Recently, Volvo officially stated that it is jointly developing with partners to test the wireless charging function of vehicles in urban use environments, and is expected to promote the application within three years.

  The reporter learned that this wireless charging technology can automatically start the charging function as long as the charging vehicle is parked on the wireless charging device embedded in the road. The driver does not need to get out of the car, and the operation is convenient and fast.

  Among them, the in-vehicle 360° panoramic image allows the car to be easily aligned with the wireless charging device.

The wireless charging power can exceed 40 kW, and the charging speed is comparable to a 50 kW DC fast charging pile, which is about 4 times faster than a wired 11 kW AC charging pile.

  "Trying out exciting new technologies in a real environment and testing new charging technologies with selected partners is a great way to evaluate alternative charging options for our future cars." Volvo Mats Moberg, head of automotive research and development, said.

  In fact, many car companies are targeting the field of wireless charging. In 2021, Huawei will publish a patent called "A method and system for recommending wireless charging parking spaces".

Zhiji L7 also announced support for 11kW wireless charging.

Volkswagen, Toyota, FAW, Geely, BYD and other mainstream car companies at home and abroad have all started the research and development and layout of wireless charging technology.

  "At present, there are three charging methods defined in the industry: one is conductive charging using a charging gun, one is power exchange, and the other is wireless charging." Liu Yongdong, director of the Standardization Management Center of China Electricity Council, said.

  Liu Yongdong said that from the perspective of the development of the new energy vehicle industry, among the three charging methods, conductive charging has been fully promoted, and various technologies have ushered in prosperity; As for wireless charging, it is still in the process of industrialization.

  The reporter learned that, for the wireless power transmission system itself, technical problems such as power conversion, system control and magnetic field environment have been effectively solved and matured.

  Although wireless charging technology for vehicles has many advantages, there is still a certain distance from large-scale commercial promotion.

  Due to the complex application scenarios and harsh working conditions of wireless charging for electric vehicles, most of the current technical difficulties are concentrated in auxiliary functions (such as foreign object monitoring, biological detection, positioning and alignment).

Therefore, wireless charging products must undergo a large number of environmental tests and real vehicle verification, and also require a large number of customer feedback, continuous optimization and improvement, before they can really be put into the market.

  Especially with the popularization of wireless charging technology for electric vehicles, there are more and more system suppliers, covering more and more models, and more diverse usage scenarios. Therefore, it has become a standard development to solve the interoperability between different brands of products. Key and difficult issues.

  "It is foreseeable that realizing the interoperability of systems (including wireless power transmission systems and auxiliary functions) will become the main goal of relevant standards at home and abroad in the future." Liu Yongdong said bluntly.

  It is worth noting that the issue of "range anxiety" has received attention from the industry and the government in recent years, and the exploration of various charging modes including wireless charging has been supported by policies.

  The "New Energy Vehicle Industry Development Plan (2021-2035)" issued by the General Office of the State Council proposes to strengthen the research and development of new charging technologies such as intelligent and orderly charging, high-power charging, and wireless charging.

  At the beginning of 2022, the "Implementation Opinions on Further Improving the Service Support Capability of Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure" issued by the National Development and Reform Commission and other departments proposed to promote the research and development of new technologies such as wireless charging and automatic unmanned charging.

Wireless charging has entered the vision of national planning and management departments, which creates more possibilities for its future development.

At the same time, the formulation of relevant standards is also in progress.

  In the opinion of many people in the industry, the introduction of the policy and the formulation of national standards will quasi-solve the problem of interchangeability involved in the commercialization of wireless charging products. very necessary.

  "The research and development of new energy vehicles will develop in the direction of light weight, comfort and intelligence. The advantages of wireless charging technology for electric vehicles make it seamlessly integrated with technologies such as intelligent driving and become the future development trend of electric vehicles." Liu Yongdong predicted , Perhaps in the near future, wireless charging will become standard on L3 and above autonomous vehicles, enabling real commercialization.

  China Youth Daily, China Youth Daily reporter Zhang Zhenqi Source: China Youth Daily