V2V Wireless EV Charging
Problem
The chemistry and architecture of lithium ion batteries limits the power at which they can recharge, leading to charging times of 20-30 minutes for an 80 kWh Tesla even on a high power super charger. Low power charging (i.e. level 1 and level 2) is healthier for the battery long-term but leads to even slower charging times. Slow charging is not a problem for most vehicle use cases, but the occasional long-distance cross-country trip can wear down drivers’ patience or worse, lead to range anxiety that prevents the switch to EVs altogether. New battery chemistries that enable incrementally higher power charging are slow to develop; fast charging infrastructure is seeing broader deployment but still doesn’t entirely solve the range anxiety issue; dynamic wireless EV charging (i.e. charging an EV while it travels down the highway with chargers built into the roadway) is still under development and all signs point to it being prohibitively expensive for widespread installation.
Solution
Rather than install wireless charging emitters into the pavement or built environment, make the wireless charging receiver under the EV’s chassis capable of both emitting and receiving power through resonant induction, and enable EV’s to transfer power between one another while they are driving parallel or adjacent to one another on the road. This would require a standardized wireless charging interface to be adopted by all EVs on a given continent/road network. Most of the vehicles on the road do not need all of the energy in their respective batteries to reach their destination; in aggregate, the vehicles on any roadway are carrying around much more energy than they need. If 5% of the vehicles on the roadway need more energy to reach a much further destination, then the other vehicles traveling a shorter distance could wirelessly charge the long-distance vehicles at low power while in motion at approximately the same inertial frame of reference. Magnetic resonant induction should still be able to transfer power between to planar adjacent coils at reasonable efficiency and the long-distance vehicle should be willing to pay more for kWh provided in transit rather than stopping at a station. Creating a shared network of kWh in this way may even change the ownership structure of the kWhs as they are fluidly traded between vehicles to maximize battery performance and driving experience. One could imaging a world in which they never need to stop what they are doing to change their vehicle again; the vehicle would just always have enough charge between overnight charging and in-transit trickle charging.
Business Model
Several business models could derive from this technology concept. The first and obvious need is for a standards board to test and standardize the wireless charging interface between all EV OEMs. One could see large vehicles (e.g. buses and trucks) act as in-transit charging hubs for the vehicles around them or passing by them. An energy company or a local fleet operator (e.g. municipal buses, cement trucks, taxi service, etc.) could offer in-transit charging subscriptions as-a-servcie at a multiple of what the kWh cost to procure at a stationary charger. Every vehicle subscribed to the service could have pre-determined settings of the price points at which they would be willing to buy or sell kWhs (taking into account losses from transfer). This subscription service could also be built into the financing of an EV before it is purchased to potentially lower the up-front cost of an EV. For example an EV lessor, could enable a lower monthly payment if the lessee committed to only driving short distances and making the excess kWh available to other drivers on the road.