Volvo and Vatenfall are testing wireless charging for electric taxis

In the Swedish city of Gothenburg, Volvo operates a small fleet of Volvo XC40 electric recharge taxis. Vehicles can be charged at certain stations without a cable. Testing with inductive charging stations is one of several projects aimed at making Gothenburg greener.

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An electric Volvo is used by the large Scandinavian taxi company Cabonline. Their electricity comes from inductive charging stations from Momentum Dynamics, the US provider. A floor-standing charging pad is included at select stations. If an electronic vehicle is parked above the charging pad, a fast charging process of 40 kW is automatically started. The car’s receiver unit absorbs power from the charging pad.

Endurance Test for Volvo XC40 Electric

Electric taxis will be on the road for more than 12 hours a day in the city and cover about 100,000 kilometers per year. Therefore it is also the first true endurance test for vehicles in commercial use. The project is set to run for three years and is part of the Gothenburg Green City District initiative, which aims to accelerate the development of sustainable technologies. Because by 2030, road traffic in Gothenburg should be zero-emissions.

Volvo Therefore the new technology can be tried in a real environment in Gothenburg and evaluated for its large-scale introduction in the future. “Testing new charging technologies with specific partners is a good way to evaluate alternative charging options for our future cars,” said Mats Moberg, Head of Research and Development at Volvo.

Vattenfall tests InCharge . payment system

The InCharge shipping and payment solution is also part of the project Lovely. InCharge enables automated payment so that taxi drivers do not have to go out even after charging. Instead, the costs are summed up once per month by Vattenfall. “Being able to charge and pay virtually is an important step and I’m really looking forward to the test results,” says Susanna Hurtig, director of E-Mobility Nordic at Vattenfall.

In addition to Cabonline, Momentum Dynamics, Volvo and Vattenfall, Volvo-owned retailers Volvo Bil and Volvo Car Retail are also involved in the project, as well as the city’s energy supplier Gothenburg Energy and the Gothenburg business district, Gothenburg’s Municipal Economic Development Agency.

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