One of the big concerns among those skeptical of EV’s is the necessity to constantly use charging station’s in order to “refuel.” To help begin putting this argument to rest, the power and automotive company Eaton has taken the first step in transitioning the worldwide electric bus fleets to wireless.
Known as the HyperCharger, the just-released device is designed to enable on-route charging for buses, allowing for longer routes, untethered operation, and a reduced reliance on centralized fueling stations.
The Eaton press release issued the following statement:
The new charger is designed to provide fleets of all sizes, including mass transit vehicles, with reliable and efficient off-board charging, making it more practical for governments and companies to meet the transportation needs of a changing world in a sustainable way.
This tech offers a strong alternative to liquid fuel stations, which require constant fuel deliveries from other trucks, by forgoing the need for such attention to the energy source, as opposed to the buses in question.
This is not a brand new discovery for Eaton, but it goes well beyond that of their current standard, the DC Quick Charger. That fast charging system has a 50kw output through five 10kW power drawers, and provides and 80 percent charge in around a half hour. The HyperCharger, on the other hand, has a scalable output of 200kW to 1 mW.
Wireless charging is certainly a hot topic right now, with several companies entering the space, including Evatran and Qualcomm. Governments are also getting in on the action, with the United States Department of Energy investing in a next-generation wireless system.
Eaton has yet to disclose charge times for the HyperCharge, but but on a demonstration basis, an average of eight on-route passes along the HyperChargers provided all of the electricity needed for the average 240-mile-per-day trip.
The on-route charger was recently installed in several cities, including Tallahassee, Florida, Worchester, Mass., and Stockton, California.
