University of Auckland develops EV in-road charging

Researchers at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, are developing new technology for in-road charging of electric vehicles (EVs). The project, which uses inductive power transfer technology, has recently received US$8.7 million ((NZ$12 million) government funding for the development of in-road pads which would charge EVs driving or parking over them.
September 22, 2017 Read time: 1 min

Researchers at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, are developing new technology for in-road charging of electric vehicles (EVs). The project, which uses inductive power transfer technology, has recently received US$8.7 million ((NZ$12 million) government funding for the development of in-road pads which would charge EVs driving or parking over them.

The New Zealand government aims to have 64,000 EVs on the country’s roads by 2021, including one third of government vehicles. However, extending the range of electric vehicles is critical to their success but many of the challenges of plug-in cars have proved difficult to solve.

The five-year project builds on technology developed by Professors John Boys and Grant Covic and will tackle requirements such as developing long-lasting charging materials that can survive being driven on and do not degrade road performance.

Related Content

  • February 21, 2023
    Full analysis: Massive US EV infrastructure plan
    The White House has announced a huge financial boost, new standards, and major progress for a made-in-America national network of EV chargers to support the future of US EV charging
    Read More
  • October 10, 2012
    Wireless charging project could change perceptions of electric vehicles
    A two-year pilot project has begun in London with taxi firm Addison Lee and electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer Renault, which uses the principle of magnetic induction to jump electricity from a base station direct to the vehicle’s battery to deliver wireless charging. The charging technology being used is called Halo and has been developed by mobile innovations company Qualcomm, the organisation responsible for processors powering the latest generation of smartphones and tablets. ‘EV drivers will opt for th
    Read More
  • June 25, 2018
    Cost benefit analysis ‘can’t be carried out with a cookbook’
    There is far more to working out the worth of a project than simply filling in a few headings on a spreadsheet. David Crawford surveys some recent thinking from the US and Canada. Cost benefit analysis (CBA) “can’t be carried out with a cookbook”, warns US analyst Professor Robert J Brent. “ You can’t just get out a spreadsheet and fill in the data for all the headings. Each transport CBA should have something that is distinctive, in terms of location (for example, for a rural area), types of user
    Read More
  • July 27, 2012
    EV charging station market in the US has grown immensely
    New analysis from Frost & Sullivan says that the electric vehicle (EV) charging station market in North America has grown immensely, helped along by favourable government level (federal, state and municipal) incentives and subsidies for the purchase of EVs. The government is extending these plans to the installation of charging station and funding programmes such as ECOtality's EV project, which is trying to install electric vehicle charging infrastructure in six major states.
    Read More

Highlighted Content