Tesla Inductive Wireless Charging development has reached 25 kW charging speed

[wtibbit]

The Cybertruck is equipped for inductive charging (see battery connector harness spotted in Service Manual), so this may a good preview of what charging speeds to expect from Tesla's future wireless charging system.

Tesla has just released this official inductive wireless charging demo video, showing wireless charging speed up to 25kw @ 35% SoC:


(Video plays at sister-site Cybercabrobotaxiforum)

I haven't seen anyone mention PowerShare, yet, as a reason to not be an inductive charging system buyer. I keep my truck plugged anytime I'm not using it; it's serving as a backup power source for my home as often as possible.

I suspect many (maybe most) PowerShare users would be uninterested in wireless charging at home.

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[jookyone]

As for me, I'm skeptical of ideologies, including environmental ones

For clarity, EVs have never been an environmental choice for me, my position is that it is a more efficient, superior product and when it is supported by the public the way that ICE is, humanity will progress.

 

[ecotrials]

I love the concept and it's great that Tesla is making this.

But I probably won't use it.

Though I think this will be great for things like RoboTaxi's when they need to charge.

The only way I would want this is if I lived in such a big house that my Truck could drop me off at the front door and then go park on the charger in the garage by itself.

But when I park, plugging in my Tesla is on my way inside. It takes like 5 extra seconds to plug it in.

It's definitely cool, but I don't see a whole lot of benefit for the average consumer.

Maybe if someone is super super forgetful. I know I've forgotten to plug in twice in about 2.5 years since I got my car. But if I did that weekly, I might be inclined to by this when it comes out.

How about making it much harder to steal the copper cable? That in itself could make the cost of charging far more efficient dollar wise if you charge outdoors, and of course @ superchargers. Which also begs the question... Are superchargers going to get retrofitted or are there going to be new inductive charger stations. This could be very useful for Tesla vehicles pulling trailers too as they would not need to disconnect the trailers to charge (assuming they leave adequate space behind the charger so that vehicle plus trailer will not block other users). Interesting trade-off less efficient charge time versus far more efficient not having to disconnect somewhere, charge, then reconnect. I can imagine pulling up to a SC and not finding a pull-through charger, having to locate a place to drop off the trailer, go back to the SC and now finding all chargers in use, blah, blah, blah. Hopefully this issue will find a resolution that works for most.

 

[Crissa]

Are superchargers going to get retrofitted or...

This is topping out at 25kW in their testing.

The Cybertruck pulls 250kW from a version 3 Supercharger.

25 < 250

Superchargers are not going to be replaces with induction, any time soon.

-Crissa

 

[Woodrick]

Irrelevant. An ICE vehicle wastes so much energy as heat out the tailpipe that cabin heating is effectively free.

But batteries are nowhere near the power density of gasoline or diesel, and even with
2x greater density and much faster charging, EVs will still have to be very focused on
efficiency to be effective. No energy use is free on an EV. And depending on one's electric rates, an EV isn't that much cheaper to charge than an ICE vehicle is to refuel; so for there to be an incentive other than eco-ideology to buy one, charging efficiency matters as much as running efficiency.

Inductive or even magnetic resonance charging simply isn't efficient, although the latter might get close enough one day. I don't even use it for my iPhone, only for my Apple Watch, and only because there's no other choice. (and I'm not quibbling about a couple of bucks a month on my electric bill there, but that inductive charging is slower than plugging in the phone)

Maybe, eventually, magnetic resonance charging in roadways (if that's even possible
given moving vehicles, and if it can be done without endangering anyone or anything) powered by magic near unlimited green energy...but the cost of installing that would be hideous.

How is it irrelevant?

I question your statement of rejecting inductive charging because it is so inefficient. You were okay with an efficiency of 20 to 30 percent, but not okay with a significantly higher efficiency? How can that be?

ORNL has already demonstrated 92% efficiency at 11 kW.
Polyphase wireless power transfer system achieves 270-kilowatt charge, sets another world record for electric light-duty passenger vehicles

You may have missed the point that the battery capacity is irrelevant in your argument, because that's after the loss. Sure it may add a slight increase in cost, but I'll quote "(and I'm not quibbling about a couple of bucks a month on my electric bill"

And look at the speed that ORNL indicated, 11 kW. I believe that is as fast as the Cybertruck will take it!

 

[rlhamil]

25kW is a lot slower than 250kW. Good enough for home, maybe good enough for taxi stands, not nearly good enough to use instead of a supercharger when that's what you want.

But for a few seconds effort to plug in and unplug at home, I don't see the convenience as being worth any higher price. Some will of course disagree, esp. if they're prone to being off on a second's notice at any time.

 

[mongo]

25kW is a lot slower than 250kW. Good enough for home, maybe good enough for taxi stands, not nearly good enough to use instead of a supercharger when that's what you want.

But for a few seconds effort to plug in and unplug at home, I don't see the convenience as being worth any higher price. Some will of course disagree, esp. if they're prone to being off on a second's notice at any time.

A human doesn't want to wait at a charger with a 125 mile of range per hour charge rate.
An autonomous cab doesn't care. It gets 2 to 3 times the drive time as charge time.

25kW is over three times my home charge rate currently and is double the max AC charge rate any current Teslas support. It also requires a 125A circuit which few houses support as an add on.

 

[rlhamil]

A human doesn't want to wait at a charger with a 125 mile of range per hour charge rate.
An autonomous cab doesn't care. It gets 2 to 3 times the drive time as charge time.

Being retired, I don't hate the wait on a trip long enough to need a supercharger; a 45 minute break every couple hours of driving is probably good for me to get a coffee, snack, and nature break, and keep my blood flowing. Esp. with Youtube (and more, via the browser; and I can always catch up on email on the phone, as I do anywhere else I have to wait awhile).

It makes sense for an autonomous taxi that the charging can be autonomous too. I don't see it makes great sense for other uses.

 

[Woodrick]

This is topping out at 25kW in their testing.

The Cybertruck pulls 250kW from a version 3 Supercharger.

25 < 250

Superchargers are not going to be replaces with induction, any time soon.

-Crissa

Demonstrated 270-kW wireless power transfer?

Polyphase wireless power transfer system achieves 270-kilowatt charge, sets another world record for electric light-duty passenger vehicles

 

[Woodrick]

Well:

Faster charging matters.
Being compatible with other systems matters.
Autonomy matters.
Reliability matters.


-Crissa

Faster charging really doesn't matter. It's being charged when you need it that matters.

That's where charging at home or works solves the vast majority of EV paranoia issues. I'm just always charged.
It's the 2% of the time that I'm travelling beyond that that is a slight issue. And depending on the distance, it's always been an issue, cars can't go forever as well.

For me, at over 150,000 EV miles, the total amount of time spent waiting for charging is mighty small. It may even be smaller than the amount of time that it took some ICE evacuees to leave Florida recently, both travel and waiting for the gas pump.

It really is interesting, seeing that I suspect that a lot of people Supercharge less than a dozen times per year. And quite a few never have.

 

[Knucklehead]

This is topping out at 25kW in their testing.

The Cybertruck pulls 250kW from a version 3 Supercharger.

25 < 250

Superchargers are not going to be replaces with induction, any time soon.

-Crissa

100%.

The use case isn't the replacement of a SC. It is replacement for plugging in at home or at destination chargers. It is new use cases like charging cars that are waiting or parked while the owner eats dinner. It changes everything, IMO.

This technology might actually get my wife to consider a BEV. Her watch dies. Her phone dies. She will rarely remember to plug in even at home and then will be stuck with a cat that she cannot drive. Automatic charging is a game changer. (I hate that phrase "game changer". ?)

 

[DJAlan2000]

And depending on one's electric rates, an EV isn't that much cheaper to charge than an ICE vehicle is to refuel; so for there to be an incentive other than eco-ideology to buy one, charging efficiency matters as much as running efficiency.

BUT, what you are forgetting is that even if it costs the same amount to 'fill up', ONE car is getting over 100 mpg (equivalent) and the other is not...

It all comes down to how much PER MILE it costs to drive... And USUALLY an EV is about HALF the cost, per mile... And that's BEFORE the extra money (annually) for maintenance that an ICE vehicle has that an EV does not...

I don't know what kind of EV you have (IF you have one - your profile only shows 'ICE' cars), but I would be curious to know what kind of 'mileage' you are getting with it.

 

[rlhamil]

BUT, what you are forgetting is that even if it costs the same amount to 'fill up', ONE car is getting over 100 mpg (equivalent) and the other is not...

It all comes down to how much PER MILE it costs to drive... And USUALLY an EV is about HALF the cost, per mile... And that's BEFORE the extra money (annually) for maintenance that an ICE vehicle has that an EV does not...

I don't know what kind of EV you have (IF you have one - your profile only shows 'ICE' cars), but I would be curious to know what kind of 'mileage' you are getting with it.

My profile shows what I had when I created it; my FS CB has arrived since then..

All I care is that for the same amount of driving, the cost for fuel or charging is a bit lower than the much smaller Kia Sportage; I’m not going to go crazy tracking Wh/mi or anything like that; not unless anticipating a trip where chargers are sparse enough for careful planning.

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