A grant of almost £50,000 from the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) and Innovate UK has been awarded to a consortium led by UK Power Networks Services, to assess the feasibility of using wireless charging for electric commercial vehicles.

UK Power Networks Services will work with parcel delivery company UPS, High Speed 1 (Channel Tunnel) and Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG) on the study.

UK Power Networks Services’ Director, Ian Smyth, is excited by what the study could mean for the growth of electric vehicles. He said, “Wireless charging has the potential to deliver lower cost electric vehicle fleets, safer unobtrusive infrastructure and provides an important solution where constraints on physical space mean wired charging is not practical."

The project will run from January to March 2019 and will investigate the feasibility of deploying wireless charging technology in three live locations across London and Tamworth. The purpose of the study is to understand the impact on infrastructure and the commercial viability of this type of charging. The study will also look at how its future use could reduce costs, improve productivity and safety, and increase the uptake of electric vehicle fleets.