Hella Partners on Wireless EV Charging System

Hella KGaA Hueck & Co. is collaborating with German inductive charging system maker Paul Vahle GmbH to develop a wireless charging system for electric and hybrid vehicles.

The companies offered no details about their collaboration or timetable for developing a commercially available system. They enter the nascent wireless charging market well behind other developers, including Qualcomm Inc., whose Halo system is undergoing field tests now.

Inductive charging offers obvious convenience for EV owners, since they need only park their properly equipped vehicle above an in-ground or on-ground charging plate to wirelessly replenish their vehicle's battery. Power is transferred from plate to car through a field created by a high-frequency alternating voltage in the charging pad that excites a coil attached to the bottom of the vehicle.

Hella says its development program will include evaluation of such issues as interference with other vehicle electronics and the tendency of high-frequency inductive eddy fields to heat up nearby metal objects.