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Volvo Working on Inductive Charging System for EVs

With the electric vehicle charging infrastructure in Europe falling way behind that in the US, in terms of both rate of development and companies willing to take on the challenge, the automakers that plan to launch electric vehicles in the future see themselves forced to take action on their own.

Volvo, an automaker that plans perhaps the biggest range of electric vehicles for the near future, announced on Thursday its plans to cut all ties with infrastructure providers, including cords and plugs. More precisely, helped by Flanders' Drive and a few unnamed partners, began researching inductive charging.

The solution is potentially much more convenient than existing charging stations because, as said, it eliminates the need for cords, plugs and even the charging station itself (induction can be achieved by using a metal plate buried in the road). At the same time, allows the charging of more than one vehicle at a time.

"The aim is naturally that it should be as convenient as possible to own and use an electric car," said Johan Konnberg, project manager from the Volvo Special Vehicles division. "One aspect of this project is to integrate this technology into the road surface and to take energy directly from there to power the car. This is a smart solution that is some way into the future."

Volvo's research has shown that a fully depleted battery of a Volvo C30 Electric can be fully recharged using this system in an hour and twenty minutes. The project will kick off on May 19, when a C30 is delivered to Flanders' Drive to be converted for inductive charging.
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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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