Qualcomm Forms Alliances to Integrate Wireless EV Charging Technology
Qualcomm Inc. and Delta Motorsport, a UK automotive and motorsport engineering consultancy, announced that Delta has agreed to integrate the Qualcomm Halo™ Wireless Electric Vehicle Charging (WEVC) system into its Delta E-4 Coupe electric vehicles, which are intended for deployment in Qualcomm’s London WEVC trial.
The London WEVC trial is scheduled to commence in the second half of 2012 and is expected to be supported by a cross section of stakeholders, including government departments and agencies, as well as commercial and private sector enterprises. The objectives of the trial are to evaluate the commercial viability of the wireless charging of electric vehicles (EVs), to develop a further understanding of issues relating to the integration of WEVC technology into EVs, to build knowledge associated with the deployment of WEVC into a megacity, and to gain user feedback on the use of WEVC-enabled electric vehicles.
"Delta Motorsport has developed an advanced passenger EV that is a good platform to demonstrate our Qualcomm Halo Wireless EV Charging in pre-commercial deployments," said Anthony Thomson, vice president of business development and marketing at Qualcomm Europe Inc. "Delta brings high-performance automotive engineering design to the London WEVC trial and the Delta E-4 Coupe displays technology at the cutting edge of EV innovation."
"Wireless EV Charging is the next technology step for the Delta E-4 Coupe, while the integration of Qualcomm Halo EV charging technology into the Delta E-4 Coupe and rigorous user testing in the London trial will help us better understand future EV engineering challenges," said Nick Carpenter, technical director at Delta Motorsport.
Qualcomm also announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Renault S.A. concerning their intended cooperation on the London trial of Qualcomm Halo Wireless Electric Vehicle Charging (WEVC) technology, and their intent with respect to conducting preliminary studies of the integration of this technology into Renault vehicles. Renault will also join the London trial steering committee.
"We are very excited about the prospects of working with Renault, a global leader in electric vehicles and an innovator in the growing low carbon vehicle market," said Anthony Thomson, vice president of business development and marketing at Qualcomm. "Renault’s participation in the WEVC London trial aligns with Qualcomm’s drive to make charging of electric vehicles simple and effortless."
"Our intended participation in the WEVC London trial with Qualcomm complements Renault’s European research and development project involving 10 partners to demonstrate wireless inductive charging of electric vehicles in a public environment with a high level of performance and safety," said Jacques Hebrard, vice president of Energy and Environment Advanced Projects director at Renault. "The deployment of wireless inductive charging requires inter-operability between cars and ground systems within common European and, hopefully, worldwide standards."
