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com/science/article/pii/S0306261916309448
Manuscript_5c2083b5aa40b2df4289379e34922de5

A Review of Wireless Power Transfer for Electric Vehicles:

Prospects to Enhance Sustainable Mobility

Zicheng Bi a,†, Tianze Kan b,c,†, Chunting Chris Mi b, Yiming Zhang d, Zhengming Zhao d,
Gregory A. Keoleian a,∗
a Center for Sustainable Systems, School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of
Michigan, 440 Church St., Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States
b Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, San Diego State University, 5500
Campanile Dr., San Diego, CA 92182, United States
c Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California at San Diego,
9500 Gilman Dr., La Jolla, CA 92093, United States
d Department of Electrical Engineering, Tsinghua University, 30 Shuangqing Rd., Beijing
100084, China

Submitted to Applied Energy

February 2016

First Revision: May 2016

Second Revision: June 2016

† Equal contribution from these authors.

∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 734 764 3194.
Email address: gregak@umich.edu (G.A. Keoleian).

© 2016 published by Elsevier. This manuscript is made available under the Elsevier user license
https://www.elsevier.com/open-access/userlicense/1.0/
 ABSTRACT

Wireless power transfer (WPT), which transmits power by an electromagnetic field

across an intervening space, provides the prospect of new opportunities for electric vehicles (EVs)

to enhance sustainable mobility. This review article evaluates WPT technology for EV

applications from both technical and sustainability perspectives. The objectives of this review

include: (1) to present the state-of-the-art technical progress and research bottlenecks in WPT

development and applications in the transportation sector; (2) to characterize the demonstrations

of the real-world deployment of WPT EV systems; and (3) to evaluate the sustainable

performance and identify challenges and opportunities for improvement. From the technical

perspective, progress on coil design, compensation topologies, and power electronics converters

and control methods are reviewed with a focus on system performance. From the sustainability

perspective, performance is defined in terms of energy, environmental, and economic metrics,

and policy drivers and issues of health and safety are also examined.

Keywords: Wireless power transfer; Sustainability; Electric vehicle; Wireless charging;

Environmental impact; Energy efficiency

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1. Introduction
A century ago, Nicola Tesla conducted experiments to transfer power wirelessly [1, 2]. In
recent decades, wireless power transfer (WPT) has been an area of intensive research to facilitate
the penetration of electric products into our lives. Typical examples include wireless charging
cell phones, electric vehicles (EVs), implanted medical devices, robots, and home electronic
appliances. The power is typically transferred via an electromagnetic field (EMF). The
widespread applications and increasing demand for WPT stems from its inherent convenience
and possibility of seamless operation without charging downtime that are otherwise two major
problems for wired chargers. Based on the working principles, WPT can be categorized as (1)
electromagnetic radiation (microwave or laser) WPT that is applicable for long-distance power
transmission, such as transmission between solar power satellites and the earth, (2) electric
induction/coupling WPT (also known as capacitive coupling WPT) that is for near field
transmission, and (3) magnetic coupling WPT (inductive or resonant) that is also for near field
transmission but does much less harm to the human body than electric induction/coupling WPT
due to the intensity of the electric field [3, 4]. Extensive work [3, 5-8] has been done on magnetic
coupling WPT for EV charging applications, which is the focus of this review. In terms of
working modes, WPT can be classified as either (1) static or stationary WPT: charge while the
vehicle is not in motion; or (2) dynamic WPT: charge while the vehicle is moving along the
WPT-enabled roadway.

WPT for EVs has the potential to overcome the drawbacks of wired chargers and
eliminate some hurdles towards vehicle electrification and sustainable mobility [9]. Aside from
its convenience compared to wired chargers, WPT can enable significant downsizing of the
onboard EV battery. Take the stationary WPT for electric transit buses as an example where the
onboard rechargeable battery can be downsized by at least two thirds [10, 11] due to the frequent
“opportunity charges” while loading and unloading passengers at bus stations during bus
operation. Attributable to these charges en route, it is reasonable to carry a much smaller onboard
battery while still fulfilling the vehicle route requirements. This results in a tremendous vehicle
weight reduction given that the battery pack can comprise about a quarter of the weight of an all-
electric transit bus for sustaining day-long operation [12]. Battery downsizing has significant
implications for lightweighting the vehicle and improving the fuel economy [10]. In the scenario
of dynamic WPT for passenger cars on major roadways, ubiquitous charging infrastructure
would theoretically allow EVs to have unconstrained range and a minimal capacity of onboard
battery [13]. Nevertheless, WPT for EVs poses additional sustainability trade-offs and concerns
that have stimulated discussion in academia and industry. The trade-off is on the burden of large-
scale WPT infrastructure deployment versus the benefits of battery downsizing and fuel
economy improvement. The concern is on the technical and economic feasibility of dynamic
WPT and the decrease in charging performance when the vehicle is moving at high speeds.

This review article summarizes both the most up-to-date technical advances of WPT
technology for EV applications and the state of sustainability assessments of WPT EV systems.

3
It aims to identify current research highlights, gaps, challenges, and opportunities of WPT
technology for EVs from both the technical and sustainability perspectives. The article first
introduces the fundamental theory of WPT and reviews the technical advances and challenges
for both stationary and dynamic WPT. The second part highlights selected case studies of WPT
applications. The third part summarizes the discussions on the sustainability, safety, and social
implications of WPT technology, identifies challenges and opportunities for improving
performance, and provides prospects to enhance sustainable mobility.

2. State-of-the-art research and technology development

Figure 1 shows a non-ionizing radiative wireless charging system for EVs through near-
field magnetic coupling. The alternating current (AC) utility power first goes through the
electromagnetic interface (EMI) stage, and then gets rectified and boosted to direct current (DC)
power with a power factor of nearly 1.0 (0.95 to 0.98 in most cases), which is similar to a
conductive charging system [14]. The voltage of the DC power is decreased by the BUCK stage.
The BUCK stage can tune its output voltage to range from 0.03 to 0.97 of its input voltage,
which achieves “soft” start/stop of the charger and continuous tuning of its output power. Here,
the buck stage is optional since alternatively a pre-charge circuit, which is composed of two
contactor relays and one resistor, is able to help achieve “soft” start of the charger and a phase-
shift method can be used in the inverter stage to ensure the low power operation and “soft” stop
of the charger. This combination of a pre-charge circuit and phase-shift method instead of a buck
stage may reduce the system efficiency, but it will lower the total cost and volume of a wireless
charging system. In the inverter stage, the DC power is converted to high frequency AC power,
which then resonates in the primary compensation network and the primary coil, with the
resonant frequency adjusted to the switching frequency of the inverter. The secondary coil
receives the high frequency AC power wirelessly through the mutual inductance between the
primary and secondary coils. The secondary compensation network, together with the secondary
coil, is required to be tuned to have the same resonant frequency in order to maximize the
transfer efficiency. The high frequency AC power is then rectified to DC power through the
rectifier stage and filtered by the filter network. Finally, the DC power is available to charge the
battery pack.

4
 Figure 1. A non-ionizing radiative wireless charging system for electric vehicles. AC =
alternating current; EMI = electromagnetic interface; PFC = power factor correction; DC = direct
current.
Research into wireless charging systems is mainly focused on three areas: (1) coil design;
(2) compensation topologies; and (3) power electronics converters and control methods.
2.1 Coil design

The coil is one of the most significant parts in a wireless charging system, for it converts
energy between its electric form and its magnetic form, making WPT possible, while also
determining the amount of power transferred and the system efficiency. In the literature, a coil
system is generally classified as either a four-coil or a two-coil system. A four-coil system [15-
17] offers the advantage of two degrees of freedom that the source coil can be mounted and
coupled with the sending coil to adjust the system input impedance, and the load coil can be
mounted and coupled with the receiving coil to adjust the equivalent load resistance seen from
the receiving coil to match the load condition. A four-coil system is suitable for mid-range
applications while a two-coil system gives better performance in short-range applications [18]. In
[18], applications are considered short-range or mid-range based on whether the transmission
distance is smaller or larger than the coil dimension. In EV applications, the transmission
distance, also known as air gap, ranges typically from 100 mm to 300 mm [19], and the coil
dimension is always larger than the transmission distance. Therefore, a two-coil system is
preferable and will be reviewed in detail in this article. In addition, ferrite bars or plates are
always employed in coil systems to guide magnetic flux and provide magnetic shielding.
Aluminum shields are often built into a coil system and serve as magnetic shields. Wireless
charging systems for EVs are divided into stationary and dynamic charging systems, with each
type having different coil designs.
2.1.1 Coil design for stationary charging systems
Basic coil systems for stationary charging systems are shown in Figure 2 (a) to (c).
Circular coil structures were studied and optimized in [20]. With the proposed coil structure, the

5
system was able to transfer 2–5 kW wirelessly at a relatively high efficiency [20, 21]. However,
the height of magnetic flux generated by the circular coil is limited. In order to solve this
problem, Budhia et al. [22] developed the solenoid coil structure, which improved the magnetic
flux path. It was reported in [23] that a 3 kW wireless charging system using solenoid coil
structure was built and a DC-DC efficiency of 90% was achieved with an air gap of 200 mm. In
addition, the solenoid coil structure performs well in wireless power transmission with a large air
gap. Park et al. [24] optimized the solenoid coil shapes and demonstrated a wireless charging
system that delivered 1.403 kW power at an air gap of 3 meters. The performance of the solenoid
structure is fairly good, but there is a severe drawback. It generates double-sided flux and half of
the flux is not used in transferring power. In addition, the unused flux may couple with the
chassis of the vehicle and steel buried in the ground, which will greatly decrease the system
efficiency. Therefore, this coil structure is not widely used in EV charging applications. In order
to have a single-sided flux path and a larger charging zone than the circular coil structure, a
bipolar coil structure known as a DD coil structure was developed in [25]. The bipolar coil
structure shows excellent system efficiency at the desired power level with good tolerance to
horizontal misalignment. Nguyen et al. [5] simulated the bipolar coil structure with the same size
but different aspect ratios (ratio of width and length of a rectangular geometry). They built a
wireless charging system employing the bipolar coil structure with the optimized aspect ratio to
transfer 8 kW with a DC-DC efficiency of 95.66% at an air gap of 200 mm. Even when the
horizontal misalignment increased to 300 mm, the system DC-DC efficiency was still as high as
95.39% [5].

(a) (b)

(c)

Figure 2. Coil systems: (a) Circular structure (b) Solenoid structure (c) Bipolar structure.

6
 A more advanced coil design can be found in [26]. Figure 3 shows the proposed coil
structure, where intermediate Lint is embedded into the primary coil structure L1. Lint and its
resonant capacitor form a passive resonant circuit, which is energized through coupling effect
between Lint and L1. Since there is also a coupling effect between Lint and the secondary coil
structure L2, the coupling of the whole coil system is improved. This design claims a higher
efficiency than that of a circular coil system, though in terms of tuning it is more complicated.

L2

L1 Lint

Figure 3. Advanced coil structure. Lint = intermediate structure; L1 = primary coil structure; L2 =
secondary coil structure. [26]
2.1.2 Coil design for dynamic charging systems

Dynamic charging systems can help further reduce the size of the battery pack on a
vehicle and offer the vehicle more convenience and flexibility. There are two kinds of coil
structure used in dynamic charging systems for EVs. The major difference between the two coil
structures is on the primary coil side: one uses the single-coil design (a long track loop that can
still be considered as a coil because of its working principle) [27-29] shown in Figure 4 (a) and
the other employs the segmented-coil design [6, 9, 30, 31] shown in Figure 4 (b).

(a)

7
 (b)

Figure 4. Typical coil configurations for dynamic charging systems with (a) single-coil design
for primary coil and (b) segmented-coil design for primary coil. L1 = track conductor; L2 =
receiver coils; M = mutual inductance between L1 and L2; i1 = the (excitation) current in the
primary coil. [27, 30]
In a single-coil design for the primary coil, the drawback is that when the track conductor
(L1) is not covered by the receiver coils (L2), it not only generates a redundant EMF, but also
results in low efficiency of the whole system. To overcome this problem, researchers from Korea
Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) proposed a new cross-segmented power
supply rail, in which two pairs of power cables were wound in I-type ferrites. By controlling the
current direction in the power cables, they were able to power the rails on and off selectively. In
addition, the power cables were wound in twisted pairs, which greatly reduced EMF issues [28].
In order to further improve system performance, they introduced a new track rail wound in ultra-
slim S-type ferrite cores. The minimal amount of power cables and ferrite cores were employed,
reducing the total construction cost. This design had better misalignment tolerance and lower
EMF than the rail wound in the I-type cores [29]. Researchers from North Carolina State
University (NCSU) used a segmented-coil design for the primary coil and employed the reflected
reactance from the secondary coil to self-increase the magnetic field strength in the coupled
section between the transmitter and the receiver [30]. As shown in Figure 4 (b), the magnetic
field is strong in the coupled coils and weak in the uncoupled coils. This not only simplifies the
control method, but also improves the system efficiency. However, speed-dependent pulsating
power is common in this coil design, resulting from the moving vehicle passing over a sequence
of coils that causes the alignment and straddling of magnetic fields. The power pulsation can
shorten the battery service life and is detrimental to the power grid. Researchers from Oak Ridge
National Laboratory (ORNL) had an innovative solution that utilized electrochemical capacitors
to smooth power pulsation on both the grid side and vehicle side. They demonstrated that the
active parallel combination of lithium-capacitor (LiC) energy storage and the grid supply
resulted in very uniform power draw from the grid, where active parallel means that a high-
power, bidirectional controllable power flow, DC-DC converter interfaces the LiCs to the DC
input of the high-frequency inverter. Furthermore, they installed passive parallel LiCs in vehicle
and successfully smoothed the battery currents [31].

8
2.2 Compensation topologies
A two-coil system is a loosely coupled transformer [4] with leakage inductances that
require the use of compensation topologies. On the primary (or transmitter) side the
compensation topology is employed to minimize the VA rating of the power supply and achieve
zero phase angle (ZPA), which means there is no need for the power supply to provide reactive
power so the apparent power equals the real power. On the secondary (or receiver) side the
compensation topology tunes the circuit to have the same resonant frequency as the transmitter
side to maximize power transfer [32]. In addition, compensation topologies help soft switching
of power transistors and reduce switching losses. Another benefit of compensation topologies is
to achieve constant current or constant voltage charging, which means when the root mean
square value of the input voltage is fixed, then either output DC current or DC voltage is fixed.
Four basic compensation topologies, named SS, SP, PS, and PP, are presented in Figure 5. Here,
“S” or “P” stands for series or parallel, indicating how the compensation capacitors are
connected to the coils. The first letter represents the transmitter side and the second letter
represents the receiver side. First harmonic analysis (FHA) is a basic analysis method used to
analyze the circuits and vac is the fundamental component of the input voltage of the inverter
stage. Although the battery is a voltage-source-based load and the battery voltage varies with its
state of charge, the battery voltage value needs to be fixed as a criterion for designing a wireless
charging system at the rated power level. Therefore, the battery is considered as a resistive load
and Req is the equivalent resistance at the input side of the rectifier stage.

(a) (b)

(c) (d)

9
Figure 5. Basic compensation topologies: (a) SS, (b) SP, (c) PS, and (d) PP. C1, C2 = capacitors;
L1, L2 = coils; vac = alternating voltage; iac = alternating current; M = mutual inductance between
the primary and secondary coils; Req = equivalent resistance.
The four basic compensation topologies were analyzed in [33-36]. SS and SP are more
economically suitable for high power transmission [36]. Wang et al. [33] introduced the
bifurcation phenomenon and studied the four basic compensation topologies. They demonstrated
that the primary capacitance C1 in PS and PP compensation topologies depends on the load
condition while in SS and SP compensation topologies it does not. Therefore, SS and SP
compensation topologies are more suitable for variable load conditions since the resonance is
guaranteed.

A more recent compensation topology, known as the double-sided LCC compensation

topology, was proposed by researchers from the University of Michigan, Dearborn (UM-
Dearborn) [37]. As shown in Figure 6, the compensated coil Lf1 resonates with the capacitor Cf1;
therefore, i1 is a constant current once vac is fixed and the induced voltage source jωMi1 is
constant (ω is angular frequency in radians per second). On the receiver side, L2 and C2 are
combined together to resonate with Cf2 and as a result, the resonant frequency is independent of
the load condition and coupling coefficient. The output current is constant, which is desirable for
battery charging. Due to the symmetry of the double-sided compensation topology, Lf2 resonates
with Cf2 while L1 and C1 are combined to resonate with Cf1. The expressions for output current if2,
output power P, and coupling coefficient k are given in Eq. (1), Eq. (2), and Eq. (3) below,
respectively:

k L1L2 vac 2 2 k L1L2Vin

if 2 = = ⋅ ∠− 90° (1)
jωLf 1Lf 2 π ωLf 1Lf 2

8k L1L2VinVout
P= (2)
π2ωLf 1Lf 2

M
k= (3)
L1 L2

where Vin is the input voltage of the inverter stage, Vout is the battery pack voltage, and M is
mutual inductance of primary (L1) and secondary (L2) coils. As can be seen from Eq. (1) and Eq.
(2), the output current is constant when Vin is fixed and the output power is linearly related to the
coupling coefficient k in the two-coil system. However, the double-sided LCC compensation
topology introduces two space-consuming compensated coils compared to the SS compensation
topology. In order to solve this problem, [38, 39] first integrated the compensated coils into the
two-coil system. Their compact system delivered 6.0 kW power with over 95% DC-DC
efficiency at an air gap of 150 mm. However, redundant coupling effects appeared after their

10
integration. To simplify the analysis and design, Kan et al. [40] proposed a new integration
method which not only kept the compactness and high transfer efficiency, but also eliminated or
minimized the redundant coupling effects caused by integration to a negligible level.

Figure 6. A double-sided LCC compensation topology. vac = alternating voltage; L1, L2, Lf1, Lf2 =
coils; C1, C2, Cf1, Cf2 = capacitors; i1, i2, if1, if2 = current; Req = equivalent resistance; jωMi1 =
induced voltage source; -jωMi2 = the voltage induced by the secondary coil. [40]
2.3 Power electronics converters and control methods

On the transmitter side, power electronics converters transform 60 Hz utility AC power

into high frequency AC power on the desired power level. There are two methods to achieve the
conversion: (1) The dominant method is the indirect two-stage power conversion, with the 60 Hz
utility power first rectified into DC power, then inverted into high frequency AC power using a
full-bridge inverter; (2) The other less commonly used method is the direct power conversion
from 60 Hz utility AC power to high frequency AC power utilizing AC/AC converters. On the
receiver side, the high frequency AC power is rectified to DC power using a full-bridge rectifier
in order to charge battery packs. The resonant frequency is set by the compensation networks and
realized by the inverter. The resonant frequency or the switching frequency of the inverter ranges
from 20 kHz to 100 kHz in wireless charging systems for EVs. However, with the advent of new
silicon carbide MOSFETs, the resonant frequency can be as high as 1 MHz [41]. Higher
frequencies make the wireless charging system more compact, but other issues introduced by
high frequency AC, such as EMF emissions, need to be further studied.
The control method of a wireless charging system is an important topic closely related to
power electronics converters. Many control methods have been developed in stationary charging
systems [21, 42-45] and dynamic charging systems [46, 47]. In the stationary charging
applications, the control methods are designed to achieve high system efficiency, desired outputs,
and bidirectional power transfer between grid and battery packs. In [21], the authors proposed a
new dual side control method and established a 5.0 kW wireless charging system with over 90%

11
grid-to-battery efficiency. Zahid et al. [42] studied the small-signal model of a wireless charging
system and controlled the switching frequency of the inverter on the transmitter side to achieve
the desired output voltage. Researchers from ORNL employed a semi-bridgeless active rectifier
on the receiver side and proposed a control strategy to phase-shift tune the switches in order to
adjust the output voltage. Furthermore, they pointed out that the proposed control method was
suitable for multiple secondary coil applications [43]. Control methods to realize bidirectional
power flow were given in [44, 45]. Bidirectional WPT for EVs can achieve interactions between
mass EVs and the power grid. EVs can be regarded as controllable power source and load at the
same time, which is beneficial for the power balance of the grid. [48] presented an optimized
phase-shift modulation strategy to minimize the coil losses of a series-series WPT system. In
dynamic charging applications, control methods were studied for fast turn-on in the tracking
circuit without overshoot in a no-load condition [46] and for energizing the primary coils to
control the amount of power received by the secondary coil [47].

3. System performance and technical challenges

Table 1 summarizes the system parameters of selected stationary charging systems. The
efficiency is high at the desirable output power levels, but note that the efficiency measurement
is inconsistent in the literature. For different research purposes, some studies have AC grid to
battery pack measurement, some have DC input to battery pack efficiency, and some report coil
efficiency. From the system analysis and sustainability assessment perspectives, it is preferable
to know the AC grid to battery pack efficiency as it provides comprehensive characterization of
the charger performance and it is directly related to the overall energy consumption assessment
and electricity cost calculation for the economic evaluation. It is recommended to consistently
report AC grid to battery pack efficiency as a preferred common practice for efficiency
measurement.

The sizes of both primary coils and secondary coils are larger than conductive chargers in
most cases. Researchers from ETH Zurich developed a relatively compact wireless charging
system and the power density is higher than any other system listed in Table 1. However, the
system may be more sensitive to misalignment than other listed systems. There is a trade-off
between compact and lightweight structure and good system performance [49], and balancing the
size of the stationary charging system and its misalignment tolerance is an ongoing practical
challenge for researchers.

Table 1. Summary of system parameters of selected stationary charging systems.

Switching Receiver
Power Air gap Transmitter
Institute Efficiency frequency size Year References
(kW) (mm) size (cm2)
(Hz) (cm2)
2 20k 200 3848 3848 2011 [20]
Univ. of Auckland 2-7 20k 100-250 3100 3100 2013 [25]
1 91.3%c 85k 100 1385 1385 2015 [26]

12
 3.3 95%b 1M 150 1024 1024 2015 [41]
b
UM-Dearborn 6 95.3% 95k 150 3600 3600 2015 [38]
7.7 96%b 79k 200 4800 4800 2014 [5]
KAIST 5-15 20k 150 9900 1400 2014 [50]
Utah State Univ. 5 90%a 20k 175-265 5191 5191 2012 [21]
Saitama Univ. 3 90%b 50k 200 960 960 2012 [23]
ETH Zurich 5 96.5%b 100k 52 346 346 2015 [51]
Notes: a AC grid to battery pack efficiency; b DC input to battery pack efficiency; c Coil efficiency.

The recent system performance of dynamic charging systems is given in Table 2. One
challenge in dynamic charging systems is how to improve the system efficiency. The system
efficiency is lower for dynamic systems than for stationary charging systems, and this is mainly
because a certain amount of magnetic flux generated by the primary coil is not coupled with the
secondary coil. The other challenge is how to maximize the amount of energy received by the
secondary coils. When the vehicle is at high speed and the track length is limited, it is hard for
EVs to get enough energy.

Table 2. Summary of system parameters of selected dynamic charging systems.

Switching
Power Air gap Transmitter Receiver
Institute Efficiency frequency Year References
(kW) (mm) width (cm) size (cm2)
(Hz)
KAIST 3-25 72%-83%a 20k 10-200 10-140 990-13600 2009 [7]
b
ORNL 1.5 75% 23k 100 33 855 2013 [6]
NCSU 0.3 77.82%b 100k 170 35 1225 2014 [30]
Notes: a AC grid to battery pack efficiency; b DC input to battery pack efficiency. KAIST = Korea Advanced
Institute of Science and Technology; ORNL = Oak Ridge National Laboratory; NCSU = North Carolina State
University.

The system performance of stationary and dynamic wireless chargers is fundamentally

determined by the materials. Currently, copper is widely used as the coil material because of its
good conductivity and relatively low price. Thin copper strands are twisted and woven together
to make litz wires that are employed for winding coils, which not only minimizes the skin effects,
but also gives enough current densities. Mn-Zn ferrites are selected as the core materials to
provide sufficient magnetic shielding at the desired frequencies. Aluminum is used for magnetic
shielding because of its competitive performance and cost. With the advent of the new materials,
such as high-temperature superconducting (HTS) materials and metamaterials, higher transfer
efficiency and longer transmission distance can be achieved. Kim et al. [52] proposed a wireless

13
charging system with copper transmitter coils and HTS receiver coils. Their experimental results
showed that both the transfer efficiency and impedance matching were enhanced. Similarly,
Chung et al. [53] built a wireless charging system with HTS transmitter coils and copper receiver
coils. They proved that with the application of HTS materials, both the transfer efficiency and
distance increased. Researchers from Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories analyzed the
metamaterials, which had negative permeability. They demonstrated that the coupling effect
between the two coils was able to be improved and the transfer efficiency was also further
boosted with the use of a metamaterial slab [54]. Though their WPT system is not for EV
applications, they provide potential possibilities for an EV wireless charging system to transfer
power with higher efficiency and longer distance.

4. Real-world applications and selected case studies

4.1 Public transit buses

Because of the fixed-route attributes of urban transit bus systems, a significant portion of
recent development and application of wireless charging has been focused on electric transit
buses. A growing number of demonstrations on wireless charging electric bus systems have been
reported, as highlighted in Table 3.
Table 3. Summary of selected wireless charging electric bus projects.
Battery
Start Frequency Power Air gap
Project Location Efficiency capacity References
year (Hz) (kW) (mm)
(kWh)
Bus projects in Italy 2003 Turin, Italy 90% b 15k - 20k 60 40 [55, 56]
KAIST On-Line Electric 2009 South Korea 72 - 83% a 20k 6 - 100 170 - 200 [7, 57]
Vehicle (OLEV)
Bombardier PRIMOVE 2010 Germany, > 90 % b 20k 40 - 200 36 - 90 [7, 58]
IPT for Electric Belgium
Buses
Chattanooga Area 2011 United States 90% a 15k - 20k 60 40 [55, 59, 60]
Regional (TN)
Transportation
Authority (CARTA)
Wireless Advanced 2012 United States 90% b 20k 25 - 50 150 - 250 [55, 61]
Vehicle (UT, CA, TX,
Electrification MD)
(WAVE)
ZTE Corporation 2014 China (various 90% a 45k 30, 60 200 [62-64]
projects cities)
Notes: a AC grid to vehicle terminal efficiency; b measurement terminals unknown.

Wireless charging can eliminate a major stumbling block for deploying urban electric
transit buses – the range limitation. According to the Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation
Authority (CARTA) project, a short “opportunity charge” of 1 minute at 60 kW can extend the
range by approximately 1 mile (≈ 1.61 km) so that multiple charges in a day would release the

14
range constraint to cover the required daily route of 100 miles (≈ 161 km), which otherwise
requires battery swapping during the day [60].

Another obstacle for the expansion of traditional pure electric transit buses lies in the
battery size, cost, and life. For a long-range all-electric bus, the battery pack can comprise about
26% of the weight and 39% of the total cost of the bus [10, 12, 65]. Among the various bus
projects, the KAIST On-Line Electric Vehicle (OLEV) project in Korea has advanced
technologies that allow buses to charge either while stationary or in motion to significantly
downsize the battery. Beginning in 2009, the OLEV research group developed and applied the
Shaped Magnetic Field in Resonance (SMFIR) technology in buses and a tram to demonstrate
the dynamic wireless charging of EVs as a commercially viable approach [57]. The battery
installed on a Gumi City bus is less than one-fifth the size of a normal conductively charged
electric bus battery, which significantly reduces the procurement cost of OLEVs [11]. As a
result of dynamic wireless charging, the state of charge (SOC) of an OLEV battery can be kept in
a narrow 40%–60% SOC band that may help extend the battery life, instead of the large 20%–90%
SOC swing of a normal conductively charged electric bus [66].
4.2 Passenger cars

As early as 2012, the U.S. Department of Transportation recognized the emergence of

WPT for EV applications and identified the need to understand the implications of dynamic
wireless charging of EVs on the U.S. highways [13]. In 2015, Utah State University built an
advanced test facility for dynamic wireless charging [67]. Dynamic WPT may enable unlimited
range extension for EVs [13]. EVs can run continuously without stopping in areas with available
dynamic WPT infrastructure. Also, the battery capacity could be reduced to below 20% of a
conventional EV battery [68].
Several feasibility studies were conducted to test the idea of deploying a dedicated WPT
lane on major roadways for in-motion charging. ORNL partnered with three other U.S.
Department of Energy laboratories and conducted a feasibility analysis of dynamic wireless
charging using traffic data from Atlanta, GA [69]. The power requirement versus the vehicle
speed profile was characterized using data from Argonne National Laboratory’s chassis
dynamometer testing facility and field tests of advanced vehicles at Idaho National Laboratory.
A vehicle speed of 40 miles per hour (≈ 64.37 km/h) was selected to meet the minimal speed
requirements for operational status of typical commuter roadways, which corresponds to a power
transfer level of 25 kW. This power level is required to sustain vehicle travel and maintain the
SOC. A higher power transfer level and relatively higher power from the vehicle propulsion
system is required for greater speeds. The arterial routes that maximize roadway electrification
return on investment were identified by using information from the National Renewables Energy
Laboratory, by obtaining the most frequently traveled roadways based on vehicle miles traveled
(VMT) and representative traffic volumes versus time of day. The 1% of arterial roads in Atlanta
where 17% of VMT took place were selected as the most desirable road segments for charging.

15
The infrastructure proposed to support this system was 12 transformers and inverters per mile (1
mile ≈ 1.61 km) with a 100-meter maximum distance between inverter and coil [69]. In addition
to research, ORNL is facilitating technology development and standards establishment by
partnering with Evatran and Clemson University’s International Center for Automotive Research
(ICAR) to demonstrate ORNL WPT systems in fully operational original equipment
manufacturer (OEM) vehicles in various applications in the spring of 2015 [69]. In Europe,
another feasibility study being conducted with test sites in France, Italy, and Sweden is the
feasibility analysis and development of on-road charging solutions for future electric vehicles
(also called FABRIC). The project duration is from January 2014 to December 2017 with a total
cost of 9 million Euros and it seeks to pave the way for large scale deployment of electromobility.
It is supported and co-funded by the European Union in the Seventh Framework Programme for
Research, Technological Development and Demonstration, European Council for Automotive
R&D (EUCAR) and ERTICO-ITS Europe [70].
4.3 Other applications

Wireless charging can also be applicable for other transportation modes that require
continuous fixed-route operations, such as harbor, airport, rail systems, and theme parks.
Transporting commodities from shipping ports to nearby distribution zones is often referred to as
drayage operations. “Zero emission” drayage operations are the long term goal of many large
port cities and wireless charging can help these vehicles operate continuously and enhance
regional sustainable mobility in densely populated areas. The Port of Long Beach in Los Angeles,
CA is identified as a candidate for such an implementation to combat the pollution and energy
consumption related to the intense drayage operations [69].

5. Sustainability, safety and social implications of WPT technology

5.1 Energy and environmental assessments

Recent energy and environmental assessments have been focusing on the comparative
analysis of wireless charging electric automobiles versus either conventional powertrain or plug-
in charging electric automobiles.
Wireless charging electric buses were found to have better performance than diesel buses
in terms of carbon emissions. The CARTA project compared the use phase performance of a
wireless charging electric bus to a diesel bus providing the same service. They reported an
electric bus reduces CO2 emissions by approximately 38% (equivalent to a reduction of 567
grams per mile), assuming fuel economies of 7 miles per gallon (mpg) for a diesel bus and 1.5
kWh per mile for an electric bus and emission factors of 10,274 grams of CO2 per gallon of
diesel and 600 grams of CO2 per kWh of U.S. average electricity (1 mile ≈ 1.61 km; 1 gallon ≈
3.785 liters) [60]. However, these results are use-phase only and lack the comprehensive
perspective that a life cycle assessment also encompassing the burden of manufacturing,
infrastructure deployment, and end-of-life would provide.

16
 Wireless charging electric buses were found to have comparable performance with plug-
in charging electric buses in terms of energy and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from a life
cycle scope. The positive implication of wireless charging in terms of energy and environmental
performance lies in the requirement of a downsized battery that significantly reduces vehicle
weight and helps improve the fuel economy. The trade-off is the requirement of large-scale
charging infrastructure deployment. In order to understand the energy and environmental trade-
offs of wireless charging technology, researchers at the University of Michigan conducted a life
cycle analysis to compare plug-in versus stationary wireless charging technologies and illustrated
the trade-off of the infrastructure burdens versus the battery-related savings by modeling an
existing bus system in Ann Arbor, MI over a 12-year time frame [10]. Two main conclusions
were drawn from this study: (1) Although there are additional energy and GHG emission burdens
from the wireless charging infrastructure for transit buses, the benefits of battery downsizing can
offset these burdens so that a wireless charging all-electric bus system would still be attractive in
energy and environmental terms; (2) The bottleneck for further enhancing the sustainability of
wireless charging mainly lies in the grid-to-battery charging efficiency. The wirelessly charged
battery was shown to be 27%–44% the size of a plug-in charged battery. Although the associated
reduction of 12%–16% in bus weight for the wireless buses can induce a reduction of 5.4% – 7.0%
in battery-to-wheel energy consumption, the relatively lower wireless charging efficiency could
cancel out this lightweighting benefit from a primary energy perspective. As a result, a similar
cumulative energy demand and global warming impact were obtained in the use phase for both
charging technologies [10]. With the current technical maturity, the energy and environmental
impact of wireless charging technology is similar to the plug-in charging technology from a life
cycle perspective. However, further advances in charging efficiency and renewable energy
penetration into the daytime or peak-hour electricity grid (provided that majority of wireless
charging is during the daytime and the majority of plug-in charging is overnight) would enhance
the sustainable performance of a wireless charging bus system [10].

Researchers at Utah State University [71] developed a model to evaluate the

environmental impacts and techno-economic feasibility of dynamic WPT applied to interstate
and urban roadways in the U.S., compared to conventional internal combustion engine vehicles
(ICEVs). They reported that a light duty WPT EV has a 49% CO2 reduction compared to a light
duty ICEV as well as some reduction in the criteria pollutants, such as VOC, CO, NOx, PM10,
and PM2.5, except SOx [71]. An increase in SOx is primarily due to the dominance of coal,
which was assumed to represent 39% of the U.S. power grid for the WPT EVs [71]. For both
light duty vehicles and trucks in the U.S., a reduction of 10.1% in total CO2 emissions was
reported assuming a 20% market penetration [71]. They also reported 2.6 years of societal
payback time for the infrastructure at a 20% market penetration, resulting from the cost savings
associated with the operation, maintenance, and purchase of the WPT vehicle architecture and
roadway [71]. Although dynamic wireless charging electric automobiles showed good
environmental performance compared to conventional powertrain vehicles, its environmental
performance relative to the plug-in charging alternative is yet to be examined in the literature.

17
 For the energy and environmental assessment of highway dynamic wireless charging for
passenger cars, the design of coil pitch that characterizes the longitudinal space between the
adjacent coils is the key to analyzing the trade-off of infrastructure burden versus use phase
performance. A coil pitch of 70% was used in the ORNL two-coil apparatus, resulting in a
longitudinal gap between the adjacent coils. The power transfer minimum is 50% of full power
when the receiver coil is midway between the transmitter coils [13]. Lower-density and separated
power transfer pads would reduce material consumption and thus lower the infrastructure
burdens, but it could result in a decrease of energy transmitted to the moving vehicle and pose
large fluctuations on the grid attributable to the varying charging power demand [70]. Thus, an
optimal coil pitch design is needed to minimize infrastructure burdens while still maintaining an
acceptable level of power transfer.

Prospective energy and environmental assessments would need to incorporate the spatial
and temporal heterogeneity of additional demand on the electricity grid from wireless charging
EVs. For example, the power demand from in-motion WPT EV systems would be dynamic
across both time and space [13]. There is an anticipated extra burden of energy supply on
electricity load profiles as the demand from the dynamic WPT EVs is likely during peak hours of
electricity consumption [13]. It would be useful for future work to compare the environmental
assessment results between marginal and average grid emission intensities [72] to better
understand the consequential/marginal environmental impacts of WPT EV adoption. Researchers
have also proposed an optimization framework linking traffic assignment with power distribution
in order to have a better understanding about transportation electrification and to answer these
questions: (1) How many drivers are going to use the charging-in-motion services, in which
locations, and at what time frame? (2) What level of power demand is expected in these locations,
and what is the optimal operational plan for electric power distribution to respond to the demand?
[73] Vehicle-to-grid (V2G) and grid-to-vehicle (G2V) communication and management should
be another key aspect of prospective energy and environmental assessment of wireless charging
technology. Instead of posing additional demand at peak load times, EVs have the potential for
electricity load shifting, and their batteries provide storage for variable and transient energy
sources, such as wind and solar power, that produce electricity in excess of current demand [68,
74]. In the future, EV recharging would be expected to interact with a smart grid in sophisticated
and optimal management strategies, and more energy and environmental analyses would be
required to investigate these impacts.
The continuous V2G and G2V communication and constant dynamic wireless charging
on arterial roads would lead to a full vehicle autonomy and unconstrained range extension, at
least where WPT infrastructure is deployed. Future environmental and energy assessment has to
address the rebound effect brought by this emerging technology due to the convenience of
wireless charging technology and reduced range anxiety [75], that is, the growth of
environmental impacts due to the increase in VMT could offset the relative reduction of

18
environmental impacts due to battery downsizing, vehicle lightweighting, and fuel economy
improvement.
5.2 Economic and policy analyses
The economic competitiveness of wireless charging technology is influenced by three
main components of the product life cycle: charging infrastructure; battery; and use phase energy
costs. Compared to the wired charging hardware, the major difference with a wireless charger for
a stationary WPT design is the two magnetic couplers which bring an extra material cost of about
US$400 for an 8 kW charger [68]. The cost increase for WPT charging hardware can be quite
acceptable considering the convenience, battery downsizing, and long-term operation cost
savings brought by wireless charging [55]. Wireless bus charging can reduce fuel costs by over
80% (US$90,000) over the vehicle’s life compared to a diesel bus [60]. For dynamic wireless
charging on highways, it is noteworthy that the infrastructure investment would be cost effective
given that the U.S. interstate highways make up only about 1% of roadway miles, yet they carry
22% of all miles traveled [76]. Meanwhile the utilization of the installed infrastructure can be
high due to a large number of vehicles traveling on the same roadway segments [9]. Given more
opportunity charges while driving, dynamic wireless charging can further mitigate the high
purchase cost of EVs by allowing a substantially downsized onboard energy-storage system [9],
which lightweights the vehicle and would further improve the overall energy and economic
performance during operation [10, 77]. Wireless charging electric buses were found to be more
economically competitive than conventional diesel, diesel hybrid and plug-in charging electric
buses in a life cycle scope [77], but the life cycle economic performance of dynamic wireless
charging cars is not well established yet. Current available cost data for wireless charging
obtained from the literature, government reports, and manufacturers are summarized in Table 4.

19
Table 4. Reported economic data for wireless charging systems.
Model or Cost scope Mode Vehicle Location Cost Note Source
real case
Model Life cycle Stationary Bus Ann Arbor, $0.99/bus-km Infrastructure + use phase, [77]
MI also includes bus cost
Model Infrastructure Dynamic Car Atlanta, GA $2.8 Hardware + deployment [69]
only million/lane-mile including labor
Model Infrastructure Dynamic Car Atlanta, GA $350,000/lane- Grid connection cost only [69]
only mile
Model Infrastructure Dynamic Car + United States $2.4 WPT electronics + [71]
only Truck million/lane-mile electric power delivery
infrastructure
Real case Infrastructure Dynamic Bus Korea $0.85 - 1.07 Electronic components [7]
only million/km and construction for
two-way roads
Real case Infrastructure Dynamic Bus Korea $15,000 (fixed) Fixed cost mainly [78]
only + $200/m includes the inverter
(variable) per cost and the labor cost
station to connect it to the
grid. The variable cost
depends on the length
of the power
transmitter.
Real case Charger only Stationary Car Worldwide $1,940 - $2,440 Wireless chargers sold by [79]
per 3.3 kW Plugless Power
charger
Real case Use phase Stationary Bus Italy $9,000/bus-year Electricity cost [55]
only
Real case Use phase Stationary Bus Chattanooga, < $0.10/bus-mile Energy cost [60]
only TN
Note: all currency is U.S. dollars; 1 mile ≈ 1.60934 km.

A key issue in the economic analysis of wireless charging technology lies in the
economic allocation of charging infrastructure and determination of battery capacity. More
wireless charging stations deployed will lead to a requirement of a smaller onboard battery, and
vice versa. Trade-off of these two design variables has been evaluated in several optimization
studies to minimize the investment cost of a wireless charging bus route in Korea [78, 80, 81].
The cost function to be minimized consists of the battery cost and cost of the power transmitters.
The power transmitter cost is made up of a fixed cost and a variable cost. Fixed cost mainly
includes the inverter cost (one for each power transmitter) and the labor cost to connect it to the
grid. The variable cost depends on the length of the power transmitter [78]. Further studies are
needed to extend this optimization framework to a network of multiple bus routes with
interconnected charging stations where the utilization of each charging station can be increased.
The cost function would also need to be extended to include not only the capital cost but also the
use phase cost (battery replacement, charger maintenance, and electricity costs). For highway
dynamic wireless charging for passenger cars, a framework to optimize the distribution of
charging infrastructure and battery capacity with the minimum life cycle cost is yet to be
established.

20
 Road infrastructure improvements and increasing EV sales need to be coordinated by a
portfolio of policy instruments to guide the proper deployment of wireless charging
infrastructure. This massive transformation in personal and commercial electric mobility would
require a focused long-term strategy and large scale infrastructure planning and deployment for
targeted municipalities [69]. If WPT for EVs is demonstrated to enhance sustainable mobility, it
would require government subsidies and incentives to enable penetration of this new and
disruptive technology and guide the synergistic deployment of WPT technologies and the
increasing penetration of EVs in the auto market [69]. In order to characterize the impact of
advanced technologies on consumer behavior, ORNL developed the Market Acceptance of
Advanced Automotive Technologies (MA3T) model and predicted that dynamic wireless
charging could boost the EV share of light duty vehicle (LDV) sales to more than 60% by 2050.
In comparison, when there is no dynamic WPT system deployment throughout the timeline, the
share can only reach 20-30% by 2050 [69, 82]. EV sales boosted by WPT technology would be
of value for car manufacturers as it will be a technology multiplier to credit their fleet corporate
average fuel economy (CAFE) figures in the 2025 calculations [69]. To guide policy makers on
infrastructure deployment, researchers tested three vehicles (a compact car: Honda Insight, a
large car: Chevrolet Impala, and an SUV: Ford Explorer) to find out the infrastructure coverage
required for 300 mile (≈ 482.8 km) range (30 kW delivered to the vehicle). They found that a
coverage of 0.46% - 1% of lane-miles is required for UDDS city drive cycle, a 17% - 43.8%
coverage is required for HWFET highway drive cycle, and a 17.2% - 64.3% coverage is required
for HW-MTN (highway driving in a mountainous region) drive cycle [9, 83]. They concluded
that if only 1% of the roadway is powered in urban areas, most vehicle types can easily reach the
300-mile target range with a relatively small battery pack [9, 83].
5.3 Health and safety
Although the road-embedded WPT technologies would improve system operational safety
(since there are no exposed high voltage cables or power outlets as plug-in vehicles) [55],
significant research has been conducted [6, 21, 84, 85] to investigate the EMF issues with human
electromagnetic exposure limits. Well-defined biological responses caused by exposure to
electric and magnetic fields below 100 kHz include annoyance, surface electric-charge effects,
the stimulation of central and peripheral nervous tissues, and the induction in the retina of
phosphenes (a perception of faint flickering light in the periphery of the visual field) [86]. The
EMF may also induce high field strengths and heating in nearby human bodies, implanted
medical devices, small animals, and metals. The two most prevailing exposure limits are those
published by the Institute for Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) and the International
Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) [59]. For example, ICNIRP [86]
sets limitations on both electric fields and magnetic fields. For electric fields, a human body is a
good conductor. The external electric field will induce an electric field inside the human body.
ICNIRP has a limit on the internal electric fields of all human tissues, which cannot exceed
1.35×10-4 times the frequency value. Furthermore, ICNIRP has a limit on general public
exposure to electric fields, which is set to be 83 V/m. For magnetic fields, the tissue has the same

21
permeability as air. The tissue has the same magnetic flux density with that of the external field.
ICNIRP has a limit on general public exposure to magnetic fields, which is updated as 27 μT in
2010. Additionally, 6.25 μT, which was the limit set in 1998, is still commonly used in recent
experiments.
Current research found that EMF can be effectively controlled within acceptable levels,
but further research is still required to ensure health and safety under variable conditions and as
the technology evolves. For transit buses, researchers characterized potential exposure of people
to the fields associated with a wireless charging electric bus operated by CARTA in Tennessee.
They found that during charging none of the magnetic or electric fields measured either inside or
outside the bus exceeded the IEEE or the ICNIRP limits for the general public [59]. Researchers
can effectively shield the EMF from affecting passengers onboard by utilizing aluminum plates
at the back of the secondary pad to protect the interior of the vehicle and aluminum rings at both
the primary and secondary pads to limit the stray field in the lateral direction [9, 55]. The eddy
currents generated when the magnetic flux passes through the aluminum shield will induce a new
magnetic flux that is in the opposite direction of the original magnetic flux, resulting in an effect
of shielding the original magnetic flux. For dynamic wireless charging of in-motion passenger
cars, researchers at ORNL [6] controlled the EMF at 23 kHz within the acceptable standards for
the general public of 6.25 μT set by the ICNIRP by utilizing aluminum shielding. Further
research, however, is still required to ensure health and safety of dynamic charging under open
traffic environments that have more unforeseeable conditions than for lab test environments,
such as variable power levels required for light-duty and heavy-duty vehicles under varying
speeds and accidental leakage exposure to nearby passing pedestrians, cyclers, and patients with
implanted medical devices. Living object detection systems and foreign object detection systems
are required for detecting subjects and metals nearby.
5.4 Prospects to enhance sustainable mobility

Challenges and opportunities coexist in the near-term and long-term development of

WPT technology for sustainable transportation. A series of technical and sustainability
challenges and opportunities are identified in Table 5.

22
Table 5. Prospects to enhance sustainable mobility – coexistence of challenges and opportunities
of WPT technology.
Short description Detailed description
Maintenance of dynamic Lateral alignment for lane keeping and optimal power transfer
alignment coupling for dynamic charging
Charger life and Need to remain in the road without degrading the structure for at least
durability 20 years and cope with resurfacing works every 10-12 years
Utility power Connect and distribute the power supply to the point of charging
distribution event
Burden on electricity Multiple vehicles on charging lane and power flow management
Challenges
grid
[13, 31, 70]
Synchronization of Low-latency private and secure vehicle-to-infrastructure
energizing coils communications for roadway coil excitation sequencing
Economic management Time of use and revenue structure
Health and safety Leakage fields: the magnetic and electric fringe fields associated with
high frequency magnetic resonance power transfer
Tolerance for diverse Acceptable power levels versus different vehicle class types (car,
power demands truck, and bus, etc.)
New materials With the advent of the new materials, such as high-temperature
superconducting (HTS) materials and metamaterials, higher
transfer efficiency can be achieved [52-54]
Dynamic charging: Depending on the power capability, the use of dynamic charging
range extension would further increase driving range and reduce the size of the
battery pack [9]
Coupling with AVs would accelerate the adoption for WPT technology by
automated vehicles leveraging capabilities such as charging alignment precision by
(AVs) lane-following technologies to keep proper alignment between
the vehicle and the grid power supply units and improve the
driving performance and energy efficiency [69]
Opportunities
Vehicle connectivity Vehicle connectivity and communication will be required for proper
system effectiveness: both with the grid and other vehicles as
well as vehicle speed control [69]
Automated highway This concept called for continued personal ownership of the vehicle,
system (AHS) but capable of commuting on traditional highways and streets in
addition to a higher speed operation on an automated guideway.
The highway carrying capacity could be dramatically increased
to more than 2500 vehicle/hour/lane and remain environmentally
sustainable [13]

6. Conclusions
This paper contains a review of the status of WPT development and applications in the
transportation sector. The challenges and opportunities in terms of technology and sustainability
performance have been enumerated and discussed.

The first section was a review of the technical aspects of both stationary and dynamic
charging systems in three areas: (1) coil design; (2) compensation topologies; and (3) power
electronics converters and control methods. Progress in technology has led to improved system

23
performance. Stationary wireless charging systems have comparable system performance to
conductive charging systems, and dynamic wireless charging systems are on the path to achieve
the charging of vehicles in motion. From the technical perspective, major research gaps are: (1)
how to improve the system efficiency of dynamic charging systems and maximize the amount of
energy received by vehicles at high speed in a limited charging lane range; and (2) how to
balance the size of the charging system and its misalignment tolerance and efficiency.

From the sustainability perspective, WPT EVs have the trade-off of large infrastructure
deployment versus the benefits of battery downsizing and vehicle lightweighting. WPT
technology offers the possibilities for better energy performance, lower environmental impacts,
lower life cycle cost, and more convenience and operational safety benefits compared to wired
EVs and conventional ICEVs. In order to realize these possibilities of WPT EVs, the following
research gaps need to be filled: (1) electricity grid management that balances the demand and
supply of electricity for both static and moving vehicles; (2) optimization of large scale charging
infrastructure deployment and battery capacity with a consideration of battery life for both public
transit and passenger car applications; and (3) policies that coordinate the growth and
development of WPT technology with other emerging EV technologies, such as connected and
automated vehicles (CAVs).

Challenges and opportunities remain in the design and deployment of WPT EV systems.
Dynamic wireless charging offers opportunities for sustaining the battery charge while driving so
that the large battery pack that represents a bottleneck for deploying EVs can be eliminated and
range anxiety will be reduced. The environmental, economic and societal impacts of large scale
infrastructure deployment and performance in terms of energy efficiency, durability, and
reliability must be carefully evaluated for prospective real-world deployment of dynamic WPT
EVs. Stationary WPT for residential and commercial charging is expected to have earlier wide
spread adoption than dynamic charging given its technical maturity and economic feasibility,
while dynamic WPT could be implemented gradually if the market develops enough to
significantly lower the high initial infrastructure cost. Connected and automated vehicles (CAVs)
would provide strong synergy and accelerate the adoption of WPT technology by leveraging
capabilities (such as charging alignment precision) to improve driving performance and energy
efficiency. WPT technology also offers more active connectivity with the electric grid through
V2G and G2V bidirectional power transfer, enabling EVs to become mobile energy storage
devices to help regulate the grid by storing excess generation from uncontrolled renewables. In
the next decade, improvements of WPT in these areas will determine how significant the role of
WPT technology will be in advancing vehicle electrification and improving the sustainability of
electrified mobility.

Acknowledgements

24
 This work is part of the U.S.-China Clean Energy Research Center (CERC) on Clean
Vehicles, which is partially supported by the U.S. Department of Energy (Award No. DE-
PI0000012) and its industrial partners. The authors would like to thank Dr. Wei Zhang from
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Michigan-Dearborn
(Dearborn, MI 48188, United States) and Fei Lu from Electrical Engineering and Computer
Science Department, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor (Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States)
for advice on enhancement of the technical review sections. The authors also would like to thank
Dr. Geoffrey M. Lewis from Center for Sustainable Systems at the University of Michigan-Ann
Arbor (Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States) for comments on improving the quality of this
article.

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