戴姆勒︰ 首先去无线充电

巴黎 — — 它是官方的。即将到来的 2017 梅赛德斯-奔驰 S550e 将成为第一个商用插电式混合动力车采用高通 ‘ 无线电动汽车充电 (WEVC) 技术。

司机的这辆新车配备无线充电选项”将只是一个特别的 ‘热点’ 垫之上公园和充电将开始 — — 没有电缆管理或解开，只是 ‘ 公园它和收取它，'”高通公司声称。

(来源︰ 通)

Qualcomm has been engaged in a number of WEVC license agreements with Tier Ones. The most recent deal — announced in July — was the one with Lear Corporation (Southfield, Michigan), a global supplier of automotive seating and electrical systems.

Qualcomm also cut a similar deal with Brusa Elektronik (Sennwald, Switzerland) a year ago. Brusa develops highly efficient power electronics for electric vehicles. The Swiss company was the Tier One enabling Daimler to offer a wireless-charging option for the Mercedes-Benz 500 series plug-in hybrid.

So, how big a deal is the 2017 Mercedes-Benz S5520e with wireless charging capabilities? Does this move the needle for the WEVC market at all?

Kevin Mak, senior analyst, Automotive Practice at Strategy Analytic, told us, “We suspect it will be small, given that it is a cost option in the $1,000-2,000 range (in addition to the standard conductive charging system) and is only available on the most expensive model from a luxury auto brand.”

But it is certainly symbolic, because Strategy Analytics believes that the Mercedes-Benz S550e is the first series production plug-in model to feature wireless charging.

Competing technologies
Notably, Qualcomm’s WEVC isn’t the only available wireless charging technology.

Competing technologies include those developed by WiTricity, KAIST, Momentum Dynamics and Evatran. Most companies have their own IP for wireless electric vehicle charging technology. Among them, Qualcomm and Witricity have been reportedly making headway in licensing their technology to hardware providers.

However, noted Strategy Analytics’ Mak, “We had previously heard WiTricity was about to launch a system for the Toyota Prius Prime PHEV, but this seems to have been delayed.”

He added, “Other players are looking to offer high-power rates of wireless charging, above 8 kW.  Some players, such as Evatran/Plugless Power are targeting the aftermarket.”

So, what exactly are the differences among all these wireless charging technologies?

Much of the technology centers around magnetic resonance coils. There isn’t too much difference among the players apart from slight variations in controls and hardware design, such as coil shapes, Mak explained.

Technologies aside, the real force attracting automakers to wireless power is the emergence of SAE J2954.