Jaguar Land Rover has announced that it has agreed to take part in a ground-breaking electric vehicle charging trial, which will take place in Oslo.
The UK’s largest automotive manufacturer, Jaguar Land Rover, has invested heavily in researching alternative fuel options over the past decade. In 2018, the brand launched the first all-electric premium SUV, the Jaguar I Pace. In this latest project, which has been named ElectriCity, the car manufacturer will supply the Norwegian capital with 25 of its I Pace models.
The ElectriCity Project
One of the aims of the ElectriCity project is to make the Oslo taxi service emission-free by 2024. To achieve this goal, the City of Oslo has enlisted the help of partners, including Jaguar Land Rover.
The ElectriCity project will see Jaguar Land Rover support the City of Oslo in its world-first high powered wireless taxis initiative. The Norwegian capital city is planning to build a high-powered wireless charging infrastructure for the use of Oslo’s taxis. The ElectriCity project will be a partnership between Jaguar Land Rover, the City of Oslo, Cabonline, which is a Norwegian taxi operator, and the largest in the region, Fortum Recharge, who will be responsible for the installation of the charging points and electrifying them, and Momentum Dynamics.
The initiative has seen engineers and technicians from Jaguar Land Rover collaborate with US technology developers, Momentum Dynamics, to test the programme and enable compatibility between the Jaguar I Pace and Momentum Dynamics’ wireless charging technology.
During the trial of the initiative, Cabonline will operate the fleet of 25 I Pace electric SUVs supplied by Jaguar Land Rover. Cabonline will test the high-powered wireless charging infrastructure using the specially designed models compatible with the charging technology developed by Momentum Dynamics.
The Importance of Wireless EV Charging
To increase electric vehicles use, and reduce carbon emissions, the City of Olso, identified that the process of charging the electric vehicles used as taxis needs to be more efficient. Instead of needing to head to a location to charge their taxi during working hours, and wasting charge getting there, taxi drivers need a charging solution that enables them to use their time and charge efficiently.
By installing multiple wireless charging plates at taxi ranks, taxi drivers are able to recharge their vehicles while dropping off and picking up passengers, without the need to connect to a charging point. The wireless charging plates automatically engage and provide approximately 6-8 minutes of energy per each charge up to 50kW.
If the model proves viable and achieves success, Oslo’s high-powered wireless taxi charging infrastructure will be the first of its kind in the world. The trial’s success could lead to increased adoption of electric vehicles used as taxis and demonstrates a fast and efficient method of keeping the vehicles charged. This charging technology is capable of being implemented almost anywhere in the world. If the technology was to be adopted in cities globally, this new electric vehicle charging system has the potential to reduce carbon emissions significantly.
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