BMW brings wireless charging system for its electric cars

MANILA: We all know how deep BMW has managed to penetrate in electric mobility and the mechanism. And following that trend, BMW i has made announcements that it will bring a new electric vehicle charging technology soon, which will be available first in the 530e iPerformance.

The new development is a wireless charging technology in BMW cars with the help of an induction system. This means the system will enable the high-voltage batteries of the cars to gain electric energy without the need of a cable. A wireless base pad will be used instead and will increase the convenience of usage.

The BMW Wireless Charging inductive system is based on the same technology used in the present day smartphones and other gadgets. The transfer of electric charge is done through an electromagnet field that is created between the source and the recipient.

The main components of the system include a GroundPad, which is the primary power source and can be installed either indoor at a garage or outdoor at the lawn and a CarPad, which is the secondary component and needs to be installed on the underside of the car.

The GroundPad can be installed anywhere outside and is immune to adverse weather, be it rain or snow. BMW says that besides rain and snow, even driving over the component will not damage it. The system has a charging power of 3.2 kW and can charge the 530e iPerformance in around 3.5 hours.

The BMW Wireless Charging is a very smart technology and limits the radiation of the electromagnet to the car’s under-deck only. Moreover, once fully charged, the system can shut itself off without human assistance. The efficiency rate of this wireless technology is 85%.

BMW will roll out this wireless system in Germany initially, which would be followed by the United Kingdom, United States, Japanese auto market and then China.