WiTricity, ProDrive Partner on EV Wireless Charging Project

WiTricity is collaborating with Prodrive Technologies to develop an 11kW wireless charging system for an unnamed European carmaker planning to release its first wirelessly charged electric vehicles in 2019. WiTricity will provide its magnetic resonance intellectual property, reference designs and consulting services to the project and use WiTricity designs to develop an automotive mass market system based on the automaker’s specific requirements, said the announcement. The Prodrive system will be capable of charge rates up to 11 kW at high efficiency, comparable to the efficiency of today’s wired charging systems, said the company, and it's researching energy transfer of up to 22 kW for automotive use, it said. Prodrive will deliver an end-to-end system, including the components that are integrated with the vehicle to capture the wireless power, and the garage floor-mounted charging pad and wall box delivering the wireless power, it said.