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Bosch offers $3,000 wireless chargers to Leaf and Volt owners
Bosch recently released an $450 charging solution for EVs, but if you want to go wireless, it's going to cost you a lot more. The company has formed an exclusive partnership with Evatran for the distribution and installation of its wireless chargers for the Nissan Leaf and Chevy Volt. Each Plugless Level 2 Electric Vehicle Charging System (now that's a tongue-twister) costs $2,998 for the Volt and $3,098 for the Leaf, not including taxes and installation fees. It's comprised of a wall-mounted control panel that provides electricity to the parking pad, which transmits power to your vehicle. You've got to admit it's convenient when all you have to do to juice up is park on top of the pad, but would you actually shell out that much cash in the name of convenience when plugging a (cheaper) charger in is no Herculean task?
Hertz charges into EV Plugless Power pilot program, can't say it three times fast
Hertz has been offering up electric vehicles amongst its fleet of rental cars, and now it's getting ready to pull the plug. The company is teaming with Evatran to test out the those cool little Plugless Power discs, installing some at its corporate headquarters this month. Hertz, along with a number of other companies will be logging "feedback on daily usage routines, user interfaces, and any additional functionality needed." No word on when such technology might see wider distribution.
Evatran's Plugless Power wireless EV charger gets smaller, conscripts Chevy Volts for testing
When it comes to technology, the old adage of "bigger is better" died a long time ago, so it's not a surprise to see "smaller is smarter" thinking apply to products and prototypes across the board. Today's (relatively) tiny wonder is Evatran's Plugless Power electric vehicle charging system: now smaller, more efficient, and primed for its first trial phase. The last time we saw Plugless Power, the system's wireless charging "station block" stretched nearly the length of a full vehicle and charged at 80 percent efficiency. Today the charge block is only slightly larger than an average hubcap, boasts a 97 percent charging efficiency, and is less picky about your car missing the wireless charger's "sweet spot." Evatran is now working on launching a test fleet of up to 12 Chevy Volts to put the system through its paces, and hopes to expand the tests to as many as 30 vehicles by January. Ready to ditch pumps and plugs forever? Start saving: a complete Plugless Power system (including vehicle retrofitting) will set you back as much as $5000 after production starts sometime in 2012. Don't be too surprised, cool stuff rarely comes cheap -- besides, that old adage has to apply to something, doesn't it?
Evatran's Plugless Power gives your wheels a wireless proximity-based charge
Trading gas nozzles for electric sockets may be the green thing to do -- in more ways than one -- but wouldn't plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles be that much sweeter if you could just forget about the plug? That's what Evatran is trying to do with its Plugless Power technology, shown off at Plug-In 2010 in San Jose, which charges your car automatically when you pull up to the company's specially-designed curb. The "station block" above is a wireless induction charger (yes, a car-sized Powermat) that beams electricity to a shoebox-sized device you mount to the undercarriage of your vehicle, magnetically detecting and gravitating towards said shoebox even if you park somewhat crooked. The system presently works with 80 percent efficiency when firing electrons across a two-inch gap (engineers are shooting for 90 percent by the time it hits production) but of course the base station itself doesn't get power from the ether -- it requires one of the company's own Level 2 wired chargers (and compatible wiring) to run. Should your residence or place of business be equipped, the 240 volt towers will set you back $3,245 this December, and the proximity charger will be available to early adopters in Q2 2011 (we're hearing April) for the bargain price of $800.
Plugless Power gearing up for production of its hands-free EV charging stations
Unless your electric vehicles tend to strictly circle your home base, you're going to need to charge up on-the-go -- and until some sort of standard gets worked out, we're likely to see the "EV filling station" approached on many different angles. In the last six months alone we've seen 'em pop up in a New York alleyway and a North Carolina McDonald's, and Better Place has tested one of its novel battery switching stations in Tokyo -- with more on the horizon. Eager to get in on the game, Plugless Power (whose parent company, MTC Transformers, has been working with similar tech for the grid for years now) looks like its finally ready to commercialize its own hands-free (and plug-free) proximity charging system. With any luck, environmentally conscious commuters will be juicin' up in their garages by the end of next year. And who knows? Maybe this sort of thing will be available at Sparky's Fill'R'Up on the PA Turnpike at some point in the near future. PR after the break.