Infrastructure Cost Issues Related to Inductively Coupled Power Transfer for Electric Vehicles

Abstract

The electrification of vehicles has been accelerated over the last few years due to tighter emission regulations, volatile fuel prices, and progress in standardization as well as improvement of battery technologies. Key hurdles of electric vehicles (EV) to gain a larger share in the automotive market are the cost of the energy storage system (ESS) and the density of the EV charging infrastructure. The achievable range of an EV or full electric driving of a plugin hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) is limited by its battery capacity. The time to recharge the battery is related to the power level of charging as well as allowable charging parameters to protect the battery life. In order to overcome the constraints of limited range of EVs (all electric driving) as well as the cost of ESS, inductively coupled power transfer (ICPT) is an interesting technology path to be considered, in particular if applied as opportunity (stop-and-go) or in-motion charging (also called dynamic wireless charging or move and charge). In-motion wireless charging could lead to significant reductions of the vehicle-related cost of electrification but this comes with the price of an infrastructure that needs to be built and maintained. In order to design the ICPT infrastructure and calculate the cost of construction and operation, certain assumptions have to be made with respect to the vehicle specifications, the specification of the charging system itself and the cost of integration into the existing road infrastructure. The objective of this paper is to provide a thorough analysis of the cost associated with the implementation of a dynamic ICPT infrastructure to support the operation of electrified vehicles and to present transportation agencies a business model that can provide a starting point for the development of a new EV infrastructure.