Continental and Volterio Say Goodbye to Cables
More than once we have mentioned the technological work that Continental is developing beyond tires in our ‘More than tires’ section. Today we want to introduce you to the latest thing that is being cooked up in the labs and R&D departments of the German headquarters: a wireless electric vehicle charger.
Together with the startup Volterio, Continental’s development and production service provider, the tire manufacturers are building an intelligent charging robot that will make recharging electricity in the future much easier. It is a fully automatic charging solution that consists of two brackets, one that will be installed on the underside of the vehicle, the other on the garage floor. In this way, when the car or motorcycle is parked, the two components will automatically connect and start charging.
It will be conducted by an intelligent system controlled via ultra-wideband, a radio-based communication technology for short-range data transmission. The energy flows through a physical connection (as in conventional systems), which means that, unlike other types of wireless charging, hardly any energy is lost when charging the charging robot. This makes it a solution that is not only practical, but also sustainable and efficient. The charging process is fully automatic and the system is simple and quick to install.
When Will it Be Available?
Electric and automatic mobility is already more than installed in our society, that is why companies do not rest in the search for a technology in accordance with our new way of life. Vehicles drive themselves automatically and are already capable of parking themselves, the next step is for automated charging solutions to become part of our daily lives as well. Continental and Volterio’s robot is closer than you think, and it is estimated that its production will start in the middle of this year 2022.
This innovative charging solution will initially be offered to private residences with an AC power of 22 kW. Later, the idea is to develop it also for public areas such as parking lots, service stations or factory areas with a charging capacity of more than 50 kW DC. Series production of this very new system is planned for 2024 and will take place in Germany. When will it come to two-wheelers? That is unknown yet, but there is no doubt that it will be the next step and that it will mean a new boost for all those up-and-coming electric models.
This new commitment once again underlines Continental’s dedication to sustainable and environmentally friendly mobility – the future is already the present!
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