Wireless charging, or inductive charging, shows great potential for electric vehicles (EV). Plugless Power aims to make the technology as ubiquitous as cell phones.
We met with Rebecca Hough over a year ago when Evatran was presenting its wireless charging system, Plugless Power. The company impressed us and I’m ashamed to say, I still haven’t properly written about this great East Coast company.
Wireless Charging and its Potential.
When cars first appeared, they were electric. Ladies loved how they could just hop on and drive off. In comparison, the newer smoky, loud, smelly and difficult to start gasoline engines were not appreciate at all. To this day, many complain handling an electric cable is dirty. So, wireless charging, or inductive charging, the same technology that recharges your electric toothbrush was applied to facilitate dainty EV drivers, so that they would never touch a cable again… well, almost.
Now imagine driving home your EV, or your plug-in hybrid, PHEV, rolling it into your garage and it is recharging without any intervention. The car positioned over a coil activates the onboard coil and voila, you have an electric pump that recharges your battery pack. Essentially, Pugless Power offers you the convenience of recharging your battery without any physical intervention on your part whenever you EV or PHEV is above a Plugless Power base station.
What’s so special about Plugless Power?
The Plugless L2 safely charges an EV as fast as a level 2 plug-in charging station. The company claims that it is: “the first inductive charging system on the market, and it’s been thoroughly tested by companies like Google, Hertz and Duke Energy. ” So far, its maximum output is limited to a maximum of 3.3 kW output on a dedicated 30A, 240V circuit breaker. We are currently asking Plugless Power if they have any intention to bump this up to 6.6 kW.
The Competition.
The wireless charging field a red hot industry set to take over the EV world. Imagine parking spots on public streets with hidden wireless charging stations. How about on strips of highway, or even better, on race tracks? It’s not that far off, and companies such as Evatran, Bosch, and Qualcomm Halo are serious contenders. Qualcomm Halo is already working on facilitating wireless charging on racetracks for the upcoming Formula E Series.
Wireless charging holds the potential of freeing EV drivers from the perceived notion that cables are clunky and annoying. It will free electric car drivers from handling bulky cables, something that had already won many drivers at the turn of last century.
Press Release:
Evatran Group, Inc. (“Evatran”), in partnership with Bosch Automotive Service Solutions, announced today at the 2014 Consumer Electronics Show that it is offering reduced promotional pricing to the first 250 customers who opt to Go PLUGLESS with their electric vehicle (“EV”) experience. The PLUGLESS system offers a convenient, wireless charging alternative to the repetitive process of unplugging and plugging-in electric vehicles. The reduced pricing includes all charging hardware and is as much as a 30% discount off the system’s standard MSRP. The discount is available only to the first 250 customers.
Initial shipments of the PLUGLESS system, the first wireless EV charging product in the world available to individual EV drivers, will begin in February 2014. The PLUGLESS system is currently compatible with all volt/” title=”(View all articles about Chevrolet Volt here)”>Chevrolet Volt model years and 2010 – 2012 Nissan LEAF model years. The Volt system will be offered at $1,998.00, and the LEAF system will be offered at $2,098.00for the first 250 units. The system charges the Volt and LEAF as quickly as conventional corded systems and all vehicle features, such as charge-timers and phone applications, can be used seamlessly with the PLUGLESS system. Additional vehicles and model years will be announced in early 2014.
“Since the beginning of our Company, we have focused on bringing this convenient charging technology to individual EV drivers,” said Rebecca Hough, Evatran CEO and Co-Founder. “After years of trials with commercial and municipal partners including Google, Duke Energy, the City of Raleigh, and Hertz, we’re excited to announce that the time has come. To celebrate our first shipments, we will be offering a 30% discount off the price of our PLUGLESS system to our initial 250 customers. This is an important day for the future of electric vehicles and we’re proud to invite our first 250 customers to join us in making history.”
The first 250 units, dedicated to this promotional program, will be delivered from February through May 2014, based on the customer’s order processing date. Delivery quantities will be limited to this Program for the first five months of production and additional orders will be placed on a waiting list for delivery beginning in June 2014.
The PLUGLESS system includes a vehicle adapter, specific to each EV model, and a charging station that is installed in the user’s garage or dedicated parking space. Bosch will provide comprehensive installation services.
In order to take advantage of this offer, interested customers can call Evatran at 877-805-3873 or visit www.pluglesspower.comto place an order.
About Evatran
The PLUGLESS™ Level 2 EV Charging System, developed by Evatran™, is the first electric vehicle (EV) charging system on the market to offer customers a simple way to charge their EVs with the ease of wireless technology. The Company is currently working with Oak Ridge National Lab on a three-year DOE grant to integrate high power wireless charging technology into production electric vehicles. Evatran has signed an installation and distribution agreement with Bosch Automotive Service Solutions to support the installation of the PLUGLESS Level 2 EV Charging System nationwide and has installed over 30 trial systems with partners across the country including Google, Duke Energy, and Hertz. To learn more about PLUGLESS L2 or to reserve a wireless charging system for your own EV, visit www.pluglesspower.com.
Press Contact:
Rebecca Hough
276.620.3196
SOURCE Evatran
