Utah
State University presented a first-of-its-kind electric bus that is
charged through wireless charging technology in a demonstration Nov. 15.
The Aggie Bus rolled onto the streets carrying passengers today; just
16 months after USU demonstrated the first high-power, high-efficiency
wireless power transfer system capable of transferring enough energy to
quickly charge an electric vehicle. In July 2011, the USU Research
Foundation demonstrated 90 percent electrical transfer efficiency of
five kilowatts over an air gap of 10 inches. The demonstration validated
that electric vehicles can efficiently be charged with wireless
technology.
USU’s Wireless Power Transfer team, in cooperation
with the Utah Science Technology and Research initiative’s Advanced
Transportation Institute at USU, has designed a more efficient way to
meet the nation’s transportation needs. By carefully applying a mix of
modern advances in engineering and Nikola Tesla’s principles of
induction, USU engineer Hunter Wu and his team have solved one of
today’s vexing problems in WPT.
Their research has led to the development of a robust prototype, which
has been fitted to the Aggie Bus. The prototype transfers power over an
air gap where no physical contact is required. Wireless power transfer
technology delivers a multitude of benefits to consumers that include
greater reliability due to no moving parts or cords, added convenience
through the elimination of plug-in charging, the assurance of safety by
removing the risk of electrocution and aesthetically pleasing devices as
a result of no visible wiring.
USU’s Aggie Bus has achieved several significant milestones. It is
the first bus developed and designed by a North American organization
that is charged with wireless power transfer technology and is the
world’s first electric bus with WPT technology combining the three
following performance metrics: A power level up to 25 kilowatts, greater
than 90 percent efficiency from the power grid to the battery and a
maximum misalignment of up to six inches.
“The unveiling of the Aggie Bus today is a historic achievement and a
great leap forward in the science and engineering related to electric
vehicles,” said Robert T. Behunin, Ph.D., USU vice president of
commercialization and regional development. “As a result of the work
done by Utah State engineers, scientists and partners, EV owners and
operators will now be able to simply drive over a pad in the ground to
recharge their batteries, the benefits of which reach far beyond
convenience.”
WAVE Inc., a Utah State University spin-out company, worked in
cooperation with the USTAR Advanced Transportation Institute to develop
the Aggie Bus. WAVE tackles the problem of heavy and expensive electric
vehicle batteries through wireless power that transfers electricity
between vehicles and the roadway. The Aggie Bus represents a
market-ready product that will be used to retire significant technical
risk as WAVE moves onto full-scale projects next year.
WAVE, in partnership with the Utah Transit Authority, will launch its
first commercial demonstration in mid-2013 on the University of Utah’s
campus. It will feature a 40-foot transit bus on a public transit route
and an increase in wireless power transfer charging from 25 kilowatts to
50 kilowatts.
The project has been funded by a $2.7 million TIGGER
grant from the Federal Transit Administration and the University of Utah
which purchased the bus. WAVE intends to deliver a commercially ready
product that operates with the same reliability as current public
transit bus options, including diesel and compressed natural gas buses.
How it works:
“Current battery limitations prevent an all-electric transit bus from
operating all day from an overnight charge. WAVE solves that problem by
charging the bus wirelessly during its daily operations when the bus
stops to load and off-load passengers,” said Wesley Smith, CEO of WAVE.
“This technology makes electric buses competitive with their diesel
hybrid and CNG counterparts.”
Utah State University has refashioned the way in which it conducts
its technology transfer operation.
The office of Commercial Enterprises,
a division of Commercialization and Regional Development, provides a
one-stop-shop for industry partnership and intellectual property
development. The Utah Science Technology and Research initiative is an
innovative and far-reaching initiative of the Utah legislature to
bolster Utah’s high-tech economy by investing in university research
programs and recruiting new, high caliber faculty. Utah State’s wireless
power transfer team is a significant part of USU’s USTAR portfolio.
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