New “game changing” wireless technology could open door to long-haul electric HGVs, says Ricardo

A “game changing” technology which allows electric vehicles to charge their batteries on the move could open the door to long haul electric HGVs.

Environmental specialists Ricardo and electricity distributor Western Power Distribution (WPD) are joining forces with Coventry City Council in a new study which will assess the feasibility of using dynamic wireless charging for electric vehicles on the UK’s distribution network and look at installing the technology in Coventry. The project is funded through the Ofgem Network Innovation Allowance (NIA) mechanism.

Denis Naberezhnykh, Ricardo technical director, said: “This technology allows electric vehicles to charge their batteries or be powered directly, while being driven, and would allow vehicles with demanding duty cycles to switch from petrol or diesel to being electric.

“This could be a game-changer as the automotive industry looks for ways to reduce its dependency on fossil fuels and indicates just how important this project is.”

Ricardo will undertake the project management and technical review of the project activities and outputs on behalf of WPD.

Other partners involved in the study include Cenex; Coventry University; Hubject; Midlands Connect; National Express; Transport for West Midlands; and Electreon.

Steven Pinkerton-Clark, WPD’s innovation and low carbon network engineer, said: “This project will assess the technology’s potential to support decarbonisation of transport and meeting UK Net Zero targets.

“The study will look at developing an understanding of how this technology can be connected to the electricity network and aims to minimise network reinforcement costs, while enabling the connection of low carbon technologies to benefit our customers.”