Stellantis Group’s Fiat is currently testing an innovative method of battery charging on its EVs. Called Dynamic Wireless Power Transfer, it is a wireless charging approach that targets the powertrain directly, rather than the batteries.
As you probably know, the current implementations of the tech feed the power to the batteries. Test circuits already exist that are surrounded by powerful wireless chargers feeding the car’s batteries more power while it is driven. However, the Italian automaker aims to overcome the design obstacles that prevent batteries from charging fast using this method.
Special transmitters concealed below the surface of the Arena del Futuro track in Italy feed the power they emit to the electric motors directly, leaving batteries alone. This can enable automakers to implement lighter, simpler electric powertrains than the current designs while also preserving the battery charge for when it is really needed.
After testing a Fiat 500 EV on its test track, the company found that the car was able to go at its typical expected speed using just the power transmitters built into the road, keeping the traction battery unplugged from the motor at all times. Later on, the same approach will be tested on a Maserati Grecale Folgore SUV scheduled for launch in the spring of 2023.
It is still too early to talk about mass market adoption of this tech, though.