edatoakrun
Well-known member
Yet another start up with an inductive model, who's (inflated???) arguments for the advantages of inductive public charging are correct only if the analysis of lower cost and ~ equivalent efficiency materializes.
http://news.discovery.com/autos/fuel-and-alternative-fuel-technologies/manhole-covers-wirelessly-charge-cars-131003.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
As I said in my OP, my personal belief is that inductive charging will probably prevail simply because BEV/PHEV buyers will demand this gee-whiz feature.
...There are four major problems with plug-in charging stations, according to HEVO Power co-founder Steven Monks. HEVO stands for Hybrid & Electric Vehicle Optimization.
“Drivers forget to plug in all the time. Drivers will also back into kiosks damaging the units. There’s vandalism and theft of the units themselves. And sometimes there’s faulty connectors, and these can damage vehicles, with average repair costs of $14,000,” (???) says Monks.
With these four areas in focus, HEVO created its patent-pending technology, known as electromagnetic resonance, which enables drivers of electric vehicles to park on the charging station and fill up -- without any need for a plug. The stations themselves look like manhole covers that can blend into the streetscape.
“What we have found is we are able to charge vehicles at the same comparable rates as plug-in stations, at the same efficiencies as plug-in stations,” says Jeremy McCool, HEVO Power’s co-founder and CEO...
http://news.discovery.com/autos/fuel-and-alternative-fuel-technologies/manhole-covers-wirelessly-charge-cars-131003.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
As I said in my OP, my personal belief is that inductive charging will probably prevail simply because BEV/PHEV buyers will demand this gee-whiz feature.
With the two manufactures who will (IMO) probably be leading in sales of PHEVs and BEVs respectively both introducing inductive charging in the next few years, will other BEV/PHEV manufactures hold out for cables and plugs?
Technical and efficiency arguments aside, I think most buyers will consider this a very desirable feature, and I find it hard to believe that Tesla or Cadillac will be selling vehicles requiring plugs in ~2016, if Nissan and Toyota will be selling vehicles that "plug themselves in", at a small fraction of the cost of the big-bucks "Luxury" BEV/PHEVs.