Qualcomm Unveils A New Road Technology That Can Wirelessly Charge Electric Cars On The Go

Check out Qualcomm’s latest vision of “the future of wireless charging in roadways.” Qualcomm Halo is a state of the art wireless electric vehicle charging (WEVC) technology which will allow you to charge your electric vehicle on the go! Add sufficient lengths of the track, and your electric car can essentially go on forever without needing a recharge.

Qualcomm’s Halo is based on dynamic electric vehicle charging technology (DEVC) and will allow a car traveling at highway speeds more than 100 kmph to charge up to 20 kilowatts. Furthermore, it will also allow two vehicles traveling in opposite directions to charge up simultaneously using the DEVC system.

Qualcomm demonstrated the system in France this Friday, using the technology built in collaboration with VEDECOM at Satory Versailles at the 100m test track powered by two Renault Kangoo Z.E. vehicles bearing the charging receivers. The test is part of FABRIC, a €9 million project, funded by the European Commission and aimed at testing the technological feasibility, socio-environmental sustainability and economic viability of the wireless DEVC.

Watch the video below to see project FABRIC in action, which also provides vehicles the ability to be summoned via smartphones and autonomously zooming off to the destinations.

The 100-meter test track comprised of 4 x 25-meter stubs each having its own power supply. This power is then transmitted across the air gap to two 10 kW vehicle pads (VPs) placed under the EV. The DEVC system converts the 85-kHz AC into DC power used by the EV’s battery management system. The vehicle can also charge up at a WEVC bay.

The idea is quite impressive, but it is yet to be seen whether the company can bear the cost of infrastructural changes that will need them to turn miles and miles of roads into high tech DEVC track.