Enabling next generation energy grid with wireless charging
by Eric Cohen
It may surprise you to know that the average age of the electricity transmission infrastructure in the United States is forty years—and more than a quarter of the grid is older than 50 years. Even without the projected growth in the adoption of electric vehicles, this aging infrastructure needs an overhaul!
But it’s not just building more of what we’ve already got. The resilient grid of the future requires that we effectively utilize an increasing share of renewables, which will require access to massive energy storage. Unlike conventional power sources that can be turned on or off at will, wind and solar are by their nature intermittent. The electric grid of the near future, built substantially on renewable power sources, needs storage to balance the surplus energy created by extra-sunny days with the energy not created by a day with no wind.
It turns out that electric vehicles, aggregated, are the single largest source of battery storage – the trick is to be able to smartly harness that storage. That means in addition to more high-voltage transmission lines to transport electricity from rural wind and solar power plants to demand centers AND smaller distribution lines and transformers for last-mile electricity delivery, we need to build out hardware such as inverters that allow customers with home batteries, EVs and solar panels to feed excess energy back into the grid.
What’s the rub? Today, EVs can feed excess energy back into the grid only when they are plugged in. And that is not most of the time! Wireless EV charging has the ability to go beyond simply powering vehicles to using those vehicles to power the grid through the wireless energy cloud.
Wireless energy cloud
According to BloombergNEF, by 2030, there will be more than 14 times as much storage capacity in electric vehicles in the U.S. as in standalone systems, such as whole-house batteries or power walls. The largest source of energy storage resides on four wheels. “Picture EVs as mobile battery storage systems. EVs can absorb excess power when available and store that energy for future needs,” said NREL’s Paul Gasper, a battery degradation scientist. “There is potential to store renewable energy within the global EV fleet to improve the flexibility and resilience of our power grid.” 1
It’s essential that we tap into this resource using vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology. And, essential to utilizing this source of energy on a regular, consistent, basis is ensuring that every parked EV can be accessed – intelligently and appropriately No matter where a car is parked, with bidirectional wireless charging it will be connected and available. Not only will wireless charging help power the grid, but it will also unlock business models and new streams of revenue for consumers and fleet operators.
Maximizing the power of a virtual fleet
Parked streetside, at home, at work, or commercially, electric vehicles will become a Virtual Fleet that powers the wireless energy cloud. Consumers will benefit from limitless range, utilities will benefit from a virtual power plant, and everyone will benefit from ongoing revenue opportunities across the network. It has been estimated that consumers could receive $1K-2K/year from the energy they return to the grid.2
By enabling the Wireless Energy Cloud, we will securely tie together vehicle manufacturers, energy companies, governments, and consumers. The result will be smart management and storage of energy across the virtual fleet of connected vehicles, enabling the next generation energy grid with wireless charging.
1https://www.nrel.gov/news/program/2023/evs-play-surprising-role-in-supporting-grid-resiliency.html
2https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1138303_each-ev-with-v2g-charger-might-earn-15-000-over-10-years