Project to test wireless charging for electric vans

A new project to assess the feasibility of using wireless charging of electric van fleets in London has received a £50,000 grant from OLEV and Innovate UK.

The project will be conducted by UK Power Networks alomgside UPS, High Speed 1 and WMG. The purpose of the study is to understand the impact on infrastructure and the commercial viability of this type of charging. The study will also look at how its future use could reduce costs, improve productivity and safety, and increase the uptake of electric vehicle fleets across the UK. The project will run from January to March 2019.

UK Power Networks Services’ director, Ian Smyth, said: “Wireless charging has the potential to deliver lower cost electric vehicle fleets, safer unobtrusive infrastructure and provides an important solution where constraints on physical space mean wired charging is not practical.

“We believe that the lack of wireless charging projects in the UK is primarily the result of many users considering this technology immature or lacking a strong business case.

“Wireless charging could allow drivers to stay in their vehicles and create a safer, more secure vehicle with greater productivity and lower cost. With so many potential benefits, commercial enterprises need to understand the case for wireless charging better.”

The assessment will include the wireless charging of UPS delivery vans at their Tamworth depot while parcels are loaded, of electric taxis while waiting for passengers in the taxi rank outside St Pancras International railway station and of UK Power Networks’ electric vans.