New Zealand recharge technology worth $70m in US deal
November 16, 2011
A joint-venture firm established by Auckland University has been bought by US firm Qualcomm after inventing the "Inductive Power Technology" device which allows electric cars to be charged without cables.
The device works when a car drives over a pad which transfers electricity to the vehicle. The device then sends the owner a message when the charging is complete.
University vice-chancellor Stuart McCutcheon said the technology would be turned into a "world gold standard" for the industry and could end up "powering pretty much every electric vehicle in the world".
The technology dates back to 1988 when Professor John Boys transferred an electric charge across two points without the need for plugs. The university's commercial arm UniServices will retain patents for the technology which were assigned to it by a group of professors and students, who will continue to receive lucrative financial rewards as it is hopefully licensed to the world's big carmakers.
The developers of this technology have managed to set up magnetic fields capable of transferring electricity by as much as 450mm between power plates. That is more than twice the distance sought by carmakers interested in "plug-less" rechargeable batteries, meaning they can reduce the weight of the plates without losing their edge over the competition.
This means that instead of having to plug in batteries for four or five hours, drivers could simply park them over a power plate, which could transfer electricity even if covered with water.
