Continental to Showcase Wireless EV charging pads at CES

Continental has said that it will be showcasing its inductive charging system at the Consumer Electronics Show which is scheduled to be held in Las Vegas from January 8.

One of the main barriers to the speedy adoption of electric vehicles has been the time taken to charge a vehicle. Continental AG has developed inductive charging technology that offers great promise in this regard by making charging faster and more effortless. The company will be using CES to offer visitors a glimpse of the advances the company has made in inductive charging, including a new onboard charging system that can give EV owners greater flexibility.
Inductive charging systems would prove to be a game-changer. Owners of EVs will no longer have to plug their vehicles into a socket, they just have to position their car over the top of an inductive charging plate, and a primary coil would transmit power wirelessly to another charging coil within the car through magnetic induction.

Continental says that the 11 kW rate of its inductive system would make it possible to offer a kilometer of range for every minute of charging. The system also uses what Continental terms “micronavigation” to automatically position the car over the charging pad with about 10 times the accuracy of a typical parking assistant.
The company would also use CES to highlight its AllCharge system that integrates the dedicated inverter, which converts electricity from an alternating current (AC) charging station into the direct current (DC) needed for electric vehicles, into a modified drivetrain.Thus, a vehicle would have a universal onboard charger that “can draw current from any charging point irrespective of charging rate, type of current or voltage level,” and obtain enough power in 10 minutes to enable 300 km of range. Another advantage of the AllCharge system is that it would transform the EV into a mobile energy bank, as the onboard inverter can also convert DC into AC that can be used to power devices.

According to Continental, production of the AllCharge is slated for 2022.