Filling up is a chore, so much so that gas stations with service attendants are a standard feature in my part of the world. Topping up an EV can be much more of a pain, Supercharger stations notwithstanding.
But then again, maybe not. That is if the people at Evatran will have their way. They’ve come up with Plugless L2, a system that allows you to charge your electric vehicle wirelessly. Yup, you heard me right, as in no cables. They say it’s so convenient that you’ll probably forget what it’s like to tether a gas hose or electric cable to your car.
Father and daughter team, Tom and Rebecca Hough started out as EV drivers. It just so happened that they were also engineers. And so, they looked for a way to charge their car without cables, giving birth to Plugless L2. A grant from the DOE no doubt helped, which we at The Green Optimistic earlier covered.
The system is based on the principle that makes transformers work, electromagnetic induction. It just happened to be the specialty of the family company.
The system consists of a Parking Pad which is on the garage floor or parking space and a Vehicle Adapter on your EV. Electricity is transferred between the two via inductive power transfer, or magnetic fields very similar to what you have in electric transformers. After installing the Parking Pad and pairing it to your EV, you simply have to pull up to your garage or parking space and the system recharges your car automatically, like magic.
The system is safe and makes use of the same principle as that used to charge your electric toothbrush. I guess that these folks put their money were their mouth is on this one. The system is all weather and designed to withstand rain, mud, sleet or even snow.
So if you’re still on the fence as to whether to get an EV or to wait for a hydrogen fuel cell, just relish the thought of the convenience of fueling up by simply parking your car in its space.
