Automated charging of electric cars
19.05.2019
F e users have to get used to everyday life with an electric car. At home, at work or on the go, a cable connection to the power supply is required so that the vehicle's batteries can be recharged. Your own charging cable is usually in the trunk. Unfortunately, even after it got wet and dirty in the rain or slush.
Wireless charging is the next step towards greater convenience and ease of use in electric cars. A working group has now also combined a loading plate with a technology for automatic payment. This means that neither a cable has to be plugged in nor an app opened or activated on the smartphone.
Automated charging
The Austrian company Easelink, together with the blockchain specialists from Lab 10 Collective and the self-appointed Innovation laboratory Act4.Energy combines the charging technology called 'Matrix Charging' with a payment system based on blockchain technology.
As soon as the car equipped with 'Matrix Charging' comes to a standstill in a corresponding parking lot, an im Vehicle-installed connector with the loading plate installed on the floor. Then a conductive charging process is started. Compared to inductive charging, the car's batteries can be charged faster without having to plug in a cable.
The car is identified via the driver's smartphone. The charging process starts automatically and continues until the electric car is moved again.
This simple solution of recharging without any further action on the part of the driver should quickly become a habit, especially for short-term parking in front of the supermarket, bakery or post office will. Via a contract with the relevant service provider, for example, the customer would receive a monthly invoice with an overview of all charging processes, so the invoice has to be waited for. With the blockchain technology contributed by lab 10, the billing is visible after a few seconds, and the system can be implemented more cheaply for users and providers without intermediary service providers.
Car manufacturers are working on inductive charging
“We want to enable charging during every parking process and that completely unnoticed by the vehicle user,” says Easelink founder Hermann Stockinger. 'This opens up completely new approaches in the field of urban electromobility and smart cities.'
Companies such as Easlink, for example as a partner of parking garage operators, could use theEquip technology for automated charging and billing. But the electric cars also need appropriate preparation. The first automobile manufacturers have already presented their own solutions. An inductive charging option for the garage at home is available as an accessory for the BMW 530e plug-in hybrid.
