Volvo announced it will start testing wireless charging system with it Rechargeable Volvo XC40 electric SUV. It is doing so by creating a small group XC40 Taxi recharge for Cabonline, the largest taxi operation in the Nordic countries.
Testing in Volvo’s home town of Gothenburg, Sweden, will last for three years, and Volvo notes that driving conditions will involve driving 12 hours a day with the cars going 100,000 miles. kilometers (about 62,000 miles) per year.
The charging stations come from the American company Momentum Dynamics. They are embedded in the sidewalk of Volvos parking spaces and begin to automatically charge when properly parked (assisted by the onboard surround-view camera). The charging speed is 40 kW, which is close to the maximum charging speed of many Electric Car‘ onboard charger when connected to a DC station. Interestingly, Momentum Dynamics lists systems capable of high-speed charging up to 450 kW on its website.
Volvo hasn’t made any announcements regarding the future availability of wireless charging. We would imagine the outcome of this test will influence whether the company intends to turn it into a supply factory.
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