Inductive power transfer: Powering our future

Abstract

The ability to provide power without wires was imagined over a century ago, but assumed commercially impractical and impossible to realise. However for more than two decades the University of Auckland has been at the forefront of developing and commercialising this technology alongside its industrial partners. This research has proven that significant wireless power can be transferred over relatively large air-gaps efficiently and robustly. Early solutions were applied in industrial applications to power moving vehicles in clean room systems, industrial plants, and in theme parks, but more recently this research has helped develop technology that has the ability to impact us directly at home. The seminar will describe some of the early motivations behind this research, and introduce some of the solutions which have been developed by the team of researchers at Auckland over two decades, many of which have found their way into the market. It will also describe how the technology has recently been re-developed to enable battery charging of electric vehicles without the need to plug in, and alongside this how it has the potential to change the way we drive in the future.