Honda to Present Wireless Vehicle-to-Grid Charging System at CES
At CES 2019, Honda will debut its Wireless Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G), a bi-directional energy management system that has the potential to reduce CO2 and create new value for customers. The growing popularity of electric vehicles (EVs) has the potential to strain the power grid, leading to the increased use of non-renewable energy sources to meet demand, which will result in greater carbon emissions.
Recognizing that batteries in vehicles also can be used as storage to help balance supply and demand, Honda EV owners will be able to participate in the V2G program and receive compensation from utility operators who benefit from the use of Honda EVs to balance the grid's energy supply.
Technical details of the new wireless charging system are presented in: Tachikawa, K., Kesler, M., and Atasoy, O. (2018), “Feasibility Study of Bi-directional Wireless Charging for Vehicle-to-Grid,” SAE Technical Paper 2018-01-0669
Unlike charging with a conventional charging cable, the system enables noncontact charging and discharging of an EV by parking on a charging pad, which makes the charging experience more convenient for customers. Honda has developed this Wireless Vehicle-to-Grid with WiTricity, the industry pioneer in wireless power transfer over distance.
The Honda Wireless Vehicle-to-Grid can help eliminate the gap between supply and demand of electricity by charging EVs when power generation is greater than power consumption, and by discharging electricity from EVs to the power grid when consumption is greater than generation. To put this system in practical use, Honda is interested in collaborating with energy-related companies, including aggregators and electric companies.
Honda’s V2G solution leverages WiTricity’s DRIVE 11 wireless charging platform, which creates a seamless and efficient two-way energy flow between the car and grid. Vehicles can be parked over a wireless charging ground pad, and electric power can flow from the grid to the vehicle to charge the battery, or from the vehicle to the grid to help meet electric demand during peak usage periods.
Block diagram for a bi-directional WPT system. Credit: Tachikawa et al. (click on block diagram to enlarge)
The DRIVE 11 evaluation system is WiTricity’s end to end reference design for “Park-and-Charge” wireless charging of electric and hybrid vehicles. The Drive 11 ground assembly (GA) is capable of charging vehicles at industry standard 3.6kW, 7.7kW, or 11kW levels, and is capable of on-ground and in-ground installation.
The Drive 11 vehicle assembly (VA) is available in low-, mid-, and high-ground clearance versions to handle the full range of passenger vehicles, SUVs, and light trucks.
Featuring WiTricity’s Tunable Matching Network (TMN), DRIVE 11 is able to maximize efficiency and power delivery over a very broad range of parking alignment, battery voltage, and power conditions.
In addition, DRIVE 11 offers direct-to-battery charging to eliminate system losses associated with dc-dc converters and onboard chargers and can be configured to handle a wide range of battery voltage including the latest 800V packs used for high next generation high performance EVs.
