“We are working on wireless charging of electric vehicles”

Today’s guest in the ‘Galym-Galam’ rubric is Mehdi Bagheri, Associate Professor at the School of Engineering and Digital Sciences. The scope of the professor’s scientific interests is quite broad: high-voltage technologies, transformers, as well as energy efficiency of buildings. With his research, the scientist solves one of the most pressing problems: from shortening the charging time of electric vehicles to saving on electricity bills. In addition, Dr. Bagheri’s research has been benefiting the industry more than once.

You work on wireless charging of electric cars. Please tell us about this?

If we are talking about the overwhelming transition of mankind to electric vehicles, we see that there are certain challenges. One of the most pressing ones is the charging of electric cars, because, obviously, drivers use their cars during the day, so charging usually happens in the evenings after work. This means a huge burden on the power networks. So, we have already started working on the solution to this problem. And we don’t have much time to solve this problem – only 5-10 years, since the trend for electric cars is already showing significant growth. If we want to support this trend, we need to think about how to solve the problem of energy distribution in the power networks now.

Of course, there are many options for solving this problem – smart charging, schedule charging. But one of the solutions we want to offer is wireless charging of electric vehicles. Our idea is to distribute the charging system equally throughout the city without overloading the electrical grid of one particular area. We are not the first team to work on this concept, there are 2-3 teams in the world that are already working on such a concept. However, we are the first team to work on charging the car not just wirelessly, but also while it is moving. If successfully implemented, this project will allow drivers to significantly save the time of recharging their electric vehicles. Moreover, if we integrate this wireless charging system into intercity highways, then cars will be able to charge on the go, while moving between cities. And this will solve the problem of charging electric cars outside the city.

What are the challenges in the implementation of this project?

There are several things. The first one is the presence of passengers in the car while it is charging. There are international regulations on health protection, which prescribe exact strength of an electrical signal that people can be subjected to for it to be safe. We do not want wireless charging to harm passengers and car drivers. Therefore, this is one of the things we are working on.

Next, the speed of the car. The whole point of the project is to charge an electric car on the go, so the issue of speed is very important, because the car has to be charged while it’s moving. This will become possible with the introduction of electric roads. But today, if we talk about a more realistic scenario, we want to suggest installing wireless chargers near crossroads and traffic lights. This will allow cars to charge while waiting for the green light. We would also like to try getting electricity for wireless charging of electric cars from renewable energy sources.