Modern Trends in Inductive Power Transfer For

28 IEEE JOURNAL OF EMERGING AND SELECTED TOPICS IN POWER ELECTRONICS, VOL. 1, NO.
1, MARCH 2013
Modern Trends in Inductive Power Transfer for

Transportation Applications
Grant Anthony Covic, Senior Member, IEEE, and John Talbot Boys
Abstract— Inductive power transfer (IPT) has progressed to is transferred by induction from one coil to another without
be a power distribution system offering significant benefits in physical contact. Such power transfer is clean, unaffected by
modern automation systems and particularly so in stringent chemicals or dirt, and has the capacity to revolutionize many
environments. Here, the same technology may be used in very
dirty environments and in a clean room manufacture. This manufacturing processes.
paper reviews the development of simple factory automation Early commercial IPT systems found applications in car
(FA) IPT systems for both today’s complex applications and assembly plants where tolerance to paint and welding fumes
onward to a much more challenging application—IPT roadway. was highly prized [4]–[8] and also in transcutaneous medical
The underpinning of all IPT technology is two strongly coupled devices [3]. In manufacturing applications, one primary circuit
coils operating at resonance to transfer power efficiently. Over
time the air-gap, efficiency, coupling factor, and power transfer was able to drive a multitude of secondary circuits using new
capability have significantly improved. New magnetic concepts decoupling controllers that could switch a secondary pickup
are introduced to allow misalignment, enabling IPT systems to circuit on and off without placing a VAR load on the primary
migrate from overhead monorails to the floor. However, the circuit [7]. IPT systems, however, really found their applica-
demands of IPT roadway bring about significant challenges. tion with clean factory automation (CFA) manufacturing flat
Here, compared with the best FA practice, air-gaps need to be
100 times larger, power levels greater than ten times, system losses panel displays and computer chips under stringently clean
ten times lower to meet efficiency requirements, and systems conditions and achieving higher yields than any competing
from different manufacturers must be interoperable over the full technology [3]. The technology has continued to evolve to
range of operation. This paper describes how roadway challenges include larger more powerful systems, operating under difficult
are being met and outlines the problems that still exist and the conditions in worldwide applications.
solutions designers are finding to them.
Perhaps the biggest challenge for IPT systems today is
Index Terms— Inductive power transfer (IPT), roadway pow- transportation for both public and private vehicles on networks
ered electric vehicles, strongly coupled magnetic resonance, of railways and roadways in every country in the world. IPT
wireless charging systems.
offers the possibility of being able to power these vehicles
electrically using electric wires under the ground to provide
I. I NTRODUCTION power, charge, and alignment means [9]–[45] for cars, buses,
and trains by magnetically coupling power directly into a pad
I NDUCTIVE power transfer (IPT) was first suggested soon
after Ampere and Faraday proposed their laws that became
the underpinning of electrical engineering. Following this,
placed underneath a vehicle. If power transfer is accomplished
with a stationary vehicle and a battery, it is called wireless
the most significant advances were made by Tesla who charging of a battery electric vehicle (BEV), and developments
demonstrated significant power transfers at ac frequencies here have accelerated over the past decade [9]–[34]; if it is
using highly resonant tuned coils [1], [2]. The means by accomplished while moving it is called dynamic powering, and
which such power, however, could be transferred at low cost, while concepts were developed in the early 70s [35], [56], [79],
and regulated, remained a challenge which was difficult to only recently has this begun to receive renewed attention due
overcome with the technology of the day. Therefore, IPT in part to stationary charging developments and a willingness
was considered to be not viable for some time and against a of car manufacturers to support this technology [36]–[45].
background of disbelief it was not until the end of the twentieth BEVs are now challenging internal combustion engine (ICE)
century that real commercial IPT systems appeared [3]. IPT vehicles in all applications of vehicles in our society except
involves the coupling of two or more coils: when coupled a range; dynamically charged electric vehicle (EV) will compete
current in one coil causes an induced voltage in the other with ICE vehicles in all aspects of performance except original
hence under the correct conditions that voltage can be used purchase cost: they are cleaner, quieter, and more efficient
to power some application and in these circumstances power and with the appropriate roadway structure they could have
unlimited range [40]. BEVs can operate with a plug in battery
Manuscript received April 4, 2013; accepted May 8, 2013. Date of charger or with inductive charging: dynamically powered vehi-
publication May 18, 2013; date of current version July 3, 2013. cles can only operate with an IPT link and it is the develop-
Recommended for publication by Don F. D. Tan.
The authors are with the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engi- ment of that link that holds the promise for EVs in the future.
neering, The University of Auckland, Auckland 1142, New Zealand (e-mail: IPT is a technology of the time, totally dependent on
[email protected]; [email protected]). recent developments in magnetic materials: litz wire, embed-
Color versions of one or more of the figures in this paper are available
online at http://ieeexplore.ieee.org. ded controllers, and particularly power electronics. Over the
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/JESTPE.2013.2264473 past 30 years the operating frequency for power transfers
2168-6777/$31.00 © 2013 IEEE
COVIC AND BOYS: MODERN TRENDS IN INDUCTIVE POWER TRANSFER 29
∼1–10 kW has increased from typically 10–20 kHz over small are, however, advantages and disadvantages with all of these
(relatively confined) air-gaps but now there is a push to 85 kHz possibilities. Increasing the power by increasing the frequency
and beyond at significantly larger spacing between the resonant is something of an illusion and may not bring about the
couplers. The power rating has also continually increased from benefits expected. The system is clearly frequency sensitive but
3 to 100 kW and higher as more applications are developed. it is not a simple dependency as it appears here and this limit
Lower power IPT systems used for charging cell phones, is described in the next section. Increasing the mutual coupling
medical equipment, and other small IT devices are developed is without doubt the best solution as it involves making the
over a similar time period, initially in the 100–400-kHz magnetics better and as this is a magnetic coupling it is really
region to keep the magnetic systems small without being the ideal approach, but there are limits in terms of magnetic
overly concerned with efficiency, but more recently operation coupler size and volume of material that must be considered
∼1–10 MHz has been developed and higher frequencies are for each application. Increasing the excitation current is a
being proposed but again are restricted to very lower power forced solution that usually leads to a lower efficiency. It will
applications ideal for harvesting power [2]. The names for give more power, but it puts more stress on all the components
such IPT systems vary, and include contactless power sys- in the process. Increasing Q 2 of the secondary electrical circuit
tem (CPS), wireless power transfer (WPT), wireless energy is a good solution but as described below this increases the
transfer, strongly coupled magnetic resonance, high-efficiency VA of the secondary and narrows its bandwidth (much in the
inductive-power distribution and others; however, the essential same sense as tuning a radio receiver). It cannot be carried to
principles are the same given the distances over which the excess or the system becomes too difficult to tune and keep on
power is coupled is almost always within one quarter of a tune over time (because of aging effects of capacitors) or in
wavelength and therefore, the fundamental operation of all of uncontrolled environments (where the presence of materials or
these systems can be described by simple coupled models. movement can shift the inductance value). These possibilities
This paper reviews the essential elements required to are examined in the next section.
develop high-power IPT systems and comments on the key
metrics which must be considered, including safety, field A. Power from the Viewpoint of Electrical and Magnetic
leakage, and heating. It also describes its latest challenge— Quality Factors
as a key enabler for EVs to increase the range and eliminate For systems where there is normally one primary and one
the need to plug in. secondary as in charging applications, (1) may be rewritten as
follows:
II. P OWER IN IPT S YSTEMS
M2
In its simplest form an IPT system comprises two coils Pout = ωL 1 I1 × I1 × × Q 2 = V1 I1 × k 2 × Q 2 . (2)
L1 L2
L 1 and L 2 with mutual inductance, M. For a current I1 in L 1
at frequency ω, the voltage induced in L 2 is Voc = j ωM I1 In this form, the power transfer can be seen as the input VA,
and is commonly referred to as the open-circuit voltage of the multiplied by the magnetic coupling factor k 2 , multiplied by
coupled system. If the secondary (pickup) is short-circuited the the electrical quality factor of the loaded secondary circuit Q 2 ,
short circuit current is Isc = Voc / j ωL 2 = M/L 2 ·I1 . From first and is not dependent on ω that is now included in the voltage
principles, the product of the short circuit current Isc multiplied at the input of L 1 . In other words, the transferred power can be
by the open circuit voltage Voc is the maximum VA rating for increased by increasing the NI product or primary frequency
the pickup called Psu and gives a measure of how good the until the VA limits of the primary system are reached, after
power coupling of any magnetic system is for a particular which additional compensation may be required (which would
driving condition. The maximum power that the system can then add to the system cost). If the power demand is fixed,
transfer—called here Pout is [7] as follows: and this limit is not reached, then an increase in frequency at
the same voltage lowers the B field in the air-gap and in any
M2 2
Pout = Psu × Q 2 = ω I Q2 (1) ferrite which may be present, and enables a smaller volume
L2 1 of copper to be used.
where the factor Q 2 is the loaded Q of a secondary system The size of the magnetics in a charging application using
that is compensated with a tuning capacitor hence it operates pads is largely determined by their expected tolerance to
at resonance, as used by Tesla. This power equation is valid misalignment. For a misalignment of 200 mm, at least one
for all manner of IPT systems but some minor adjustments of the pads has to be circa 400 mm across hence under
may occur in track-based systems driven from a current source misaligned conditions an overlap exists whereby energy can
when the inductance L 1 can be very large. Pickups in track be transferred. A given pad needs essentially the same input
systems are usually in a close relationship with the track and VA for a given power regardless of the frequency. For a
can partially enclose
√ the track inductor giving high k values given power and VA rating, increasing the frequency requires
(where k = M/ L 1 L 2 is the magnetic coupling factor) that a reduction in pad inductance by partitioning the wire into
are not achievable with floor-mounted systems such as AGVs segments and adding series compensation to manage the
or moving robots. Nonetheless regardless of the value of k the voltage. Simply reducing N makes the windings sparse and
analysis can proceed in the same way. the leakage flux may increase. The area of ferrite may also
Following (1), the power transferred by an IPT system can be reduced but it must contain the flux. It can be made
be improved by increasing any of ω, M, I1 , or Q 2 . There thinner but then it is more likely to break. A good practical
30 IEEE JOURNAL OF EMERGING AND SELECTED TOPICS IN POWER ELECTRONICS, VOL. 1, NO. 1, MARCH 2013
reduction is to reduce the NI product by two with a bifilar Q L 1 = 148 [48], similarly Hu described a 400-m track system
winding—but the power supply must now deliver twice the and pickup operating at 15 kHz, where Q L 1 = 195, and
current. The efficiency of the power electronic supplies and Q L 2 = 565 [49]. In this application, each pickup is designed to
secondary electronics operating at LF frequencies is usually deliver 10 kW of power to a light rail train under development
very high. Power supply efficiencies are typically ∼95% while in Germany by Conductix–Wampfler AG and is expected to
the secondary electronics and control can have an efficiency as operate with a loaded Q 2 of ∼4. Thus, the magnetic losses
high as 96%–97% when it is operating under ideal conditions. or each secondary is ∼1%. Similar examples of designs by
Normally forced cooling is not required. There is a natural Vahle in 2001 for their CPS system in Dresden which has been
desire to be able to couple power at an efficiency of ≈90%, and operating since 2001 have measured Q L > 200 [50] while
therefore the couplers also need to have efficiencies ∼96%– de-Boeij et al. [51] also showed built coupler systems with
97%. For this reason, most couplers use ferrite and litz wire, to Q L 1 = 308.6, and Q L 2 = 314 in the primary and secondary,
shape the field and ensure the conduction losses are low. The respectively.
designs of such couplers have evolved with the applications, Thus, high-Q coils are essential to guarantee low loss but
but from the very first commercial systems in the ’80s there the terminology in the literature was rather confusing and
was a clear understanding that all couplers must be low loss. seemed to imply a difference between the recently presented
The loss in any tuned coil is the VA in the coil divided by research by Kurs et al., [52] which they labeled as strongly
its native Q [30] and therefore, all commercial systems use coupled magnetic resonance, and commercial resonant induc-
resonant coupling coils with high native Q (for the inductor tive systems even as early as those described above. In [52] and
this is labeled here as Q L = ωL/rac , where rac is the intrinsic [53] there are two coupled resonators with intrinsic loss rates
resistance of the wire in the coil inductor at the operating 1 and 2 that are coupled together at a coupling rate K . The
frequency). resonance quality factor for each resonator
√ is Q L = ω/2.
Thus, the magnetic loss in either the primary or secondary The WPT figure of merit is U = K / 1 2 . In conventional
at a given power transfer rate can each be defined as follows: electrical engineering terminology, the same statement may be
VA written as: there are two tuned coupled circuits
with a coupling
Ploss = . (3) factor k and a WPT figure of merit U = k Q L 1 Q L 2 where
QL
k, Q L 1 , and Q L 2 are all defined earlier. As discussed, the

quality factor of each coil that is Q L = ω/BW (where BW is
The VA of the secondary is [46], Pout Q 22 + 1 for a parallel
the bandwidth of the tuned circuit), can also be related to the
resonant secondary, or Pout Q 2 for a series resonant secondary
damping factor of each circuit, or to the electrical parameters
system, and as most systems operate at rated power with
of the circuit described earlier.
nominal loaded Q 2 > 3 both approximate Pout Q 2 . Thus, the
This nomenclature in [53] is generalized for any type of
magnetic power losses near rated power transfer are as follows:
resonator, whereas the electrical one only applies to electrical
V A1 V A2 1/ (k Q 2 )2 1 resonances—which in practice comprise the overwhelming
Ploss = + ≈ Pout Q 2 + . (4) majority of all resonators.
Q L1 Q L2 Q L1 Q L2 Expressing the figure of merit in
two forms U = 2K /ωo Q L 1 Q L 2 = k Q L 1 Q L 2 shows that
IPT systems are normally designed to operate such that the unloaded Qs of the two circuit couplers is the important
√
the effective VA in the primary is usually greater than the factor—and always has been. Here, ωo = ω1 ω2 is the
VA of the secondary (or combined secondaries) [7], [47], but operational frequency of the system, and is the geometrical
care must be taken when these VAs are closely matched if average frequency of the individual coil resonant frequencies
the system operates under variable frequency conditions— ω1,2 of coils one and two, respectively. As defined in [53], a
given this is nominally the point at which bifurcation can system with U > 1 is strongly coupled. As such the majority
occur and power drops. In fixed frequency systems operation of all practical IPT systems operating under resonance are
close to this point is essentially the best operating condition strongly coupled since as shown earlier Q L 1 Q L 2 > 100
and usually guarantees good efficiency. In a charging system, is common requiring k > 0.01 which is true of nearly all
similar sized couplers (which usually have similar VA limits) systems, and for charging systems most have k > 0.1 under
are normally designed to operate with maximum VA while all desirable power transfer conditions.
delivering rated power at the largest lateral displacement
and clearance. Therefore, at this point k Q 2 ≈ 1, hence the B. Power from the Viewpoint of Energy Storage
magnetic losses of both the primary and secondary at rated The power equation may also be written as follows:
power, are proportional to Q 2 /Q L . With more displacement
there is a need to reduce the power delivered or risk operating M2
Pout = ω × L 1 I12 × × Q2 (5)
beyond the pad ratings and shortening their lifespans. L1 L2
If the ideal magnetic losses are desired to be 2%, then in where the power is seen to be 2π times the frequency
a matched coil system operating at the point where both are multiplied by the product of the peak energy stored in the
close to rated VA, each system should operate with ≈1% loss. L 1 inductor, the square of the magnetic coupling factor, and
This equates to a desire to operate such that Q L /Q 2 > 100. the loaded Q of L 2 .
As an example of a typical commercial design, Wang et al. Further, as the energy in the inductor is essentially stored in
described a 20-kW system where the primary track had a the air-gap of a practical IPT system, the peak energy stored
Pickup Switched- to support the magnetic field. The wire, current, frequency,
Compensation Mode VDC and wire to wire spacing are all gradually becoming sub-
Controller
ject to international standards—in FA 80/125-A wires spaced
3∅ Pickup 100-mm apart operating at a frequency of ∼20 kHz are an
Input L2 Inductance
industry standard. Pickups (magnetic couplers) may run on
Power Supply
+ Output Track inductance = L1 the floor, or on monorails controlled by signals superposed on
Compensation
I1 the wires or separately transmitted [4]–[8].
In other aspects, there may be considerable freedom in the
Fig. 1. Typical IPT system. design of IPT systems especially in the pickup circuitry, its
protection, the controllers, and the electrical circuitry and Q 2 .
The most flexible characteristic of all is, however, probably the
may be written as: Peak Energy = B 2 /2μ0 × the volume of magnetic circuits and how they are coupled. Such IPT systems
the air-gap separating L 1 and L 2 . Here, B is the rms flux are loosely coupled with k values that may be as low as 0.01
density. Thus, simplistically the maximum power that can be or as high as 0.3–0.5 or more in some circumstances. But the
transferred by an IPT system includes the frequency, the flux difference between a system with a k value of 0.01 compared
density, the coupling factor, and the size (volume) of the air- with an alternative system with a k value of 0.03 is a factor of
gap. This analysis has not included the flux caused by the nine: this can be compensated by increasing Q 2 by nine times
secondary coil and its loaded Q but it does show that in general but then the system becomes less efficient and difficult to tune
higher powers will require higher flux densities. as the coupler alignments and the ambient temperature vary.
For charging systems there is always a desire to reduce the To this end, a significant effort in the design of IPT systems
size of the secondary system (e.g., in cell phones, robots, and is to increase k by improving the magnetic designs. Simple
EVs), and thus at any given frequency and power transfer, coils wound about a ferrite core have flux out both sides of
this necessarily increases the B in the gap given the coupling the coupler—the flux out the obverse face can never couple
between the primary and secondary will reduce with size. to the other coupler therefore, new coupler topologies are
Therefore, both the primary and secondary will have to be developed where there is no reverse flux. Flux paths are shaped
driven harder to compensate for this reduction, thereby low- by attractors (ferrite) and frighteners (aluminum or copper).
ering the system efficiency. If the primary is larger than the Combinations of ferrite and copper can greatly improve the
secondary (and this is often desired to increase the tolerance flux path geometry giving significant increases in k while also
of the system to misalignment), then there is an even greater reducing other leakage paths.
chance of creating leakage if the smaller secondary cannot
capture the field. In all of these cases, the potential levels of
IV. M AGNETIC C OMPONENTS IN IPT S YSTEMS
flux, where humans will interact with these fields, must be
considered and maintained within ICNIRP limits [54], [55], IPT systems use two or more magnetic couplers to transfer
while also ensuring that objects in the gap are not heated in a power from one frame of reference to another. As noted above,
manner that creates a safety hazard. in the discussion on the power equation, arguably the most
important factor in an IPT system is the magnetic coupling
III. E LEMENTS OF AN IPT S YSTEM coefficient k and techniques that increase k lead directly to
systems that can transfer power more efficiently than others.
A simple IPT system is shown in Fig. 1. It comprises of There may, however, be a cost penalty as magnetic materials
the following: such as ferrite are expensive and fragile and in circumstances
1) a power supply that takes electric power from a utility where a large lateral tolerance to misalignment is needed the
or a battery; cost may be excessive. Where low powers are involved the
2) an elongate track that is driven by the power supply magnetic material may be omitted and pickups may be coupled
whereby current in the track causes a magnetic field that magnetically through the air. The required Q 2 may be higher
follows the track; and the efficiency lower but the system is justified by its cost.
3) pickups on or along the track that intercept some of From the earliest systems there is always a balance, such
the magnetic field and convert that intercepted field to as this, to meet some figure of performance. Otto [56] in
controlled electricity; 1973, for example proposed a system for powering an EV
4) electrical loads that may be driven by that electricity. with an air-cored pickup coil >300-mm above the surface of
All of these aspects are important but some are essentially a road using a primary of two copper tubes buried in the road,
self-evident. There are a very large number of power supply each with a current of 2000 A at 10 kHz. The system was
circuits that may be used in an IPT system but all of them never built but avoided the use of ferrite as it would have
achieve the same outputs with different output frequency, been prohibitively expensive. Today, that solution would be
efficiency, and reliability, however, modern IPT supplies gen- unacceptable in that emissions from it would be too high—
erally favor current controlled supplies with unity power factor but from that time different solutions to the power transfer
and with a controlled frequency [3]. The frequency must problem have continued to be innovative in a wide variety of
be system wide but other attributes will vary with cost and applications. In the early 1990s, a monorail conveyor for FA
availability. The track usually uses high-frequency litz wire used IPT at 10 kHz with a track current of 80 A using two
wires at a spacing of 100-mm mounted close to an aluminum high relative permeability of the ferrite in the order of 2000,
I beam that was the backbone of the monorail [7]. Here, the a crack 10 microns wide is equivalent to 20 mm of ferrite.
primary is essentially in air (near the web of the I beam)
and the secondaries used ferrite E cores with a litz wire V. C HARGING EV S W IRELESSLY
winding to each collect ∼1.5 kW from the primary as they In the push to obtain EVs powered by IPT this background
moved. This is an efficient system using a different magnetic in FA technology is useful but inadequate. With FA, the
structure at each end of the coupling and was unique in that misalignments and the air-gaps are small but in the EV appli-
it included a control system that allowed individual conveyors cation they can be large. Present systems would run happily at
to be regulated without compromising other conveyors on the 2–3 kW/carrier, and occasionally higher, but with the EV much
same track. higher powers are needed. For stationary charging, a power
A modification to this used the same controller but the two level of at least 7 kW is needed while in dynamic applications
wires are horizontally displaced in air with currents of 80 A 20 kW is fast becoming the design specification. The biggest
each, at a frequency of 10 kHz and pickups made of ferrite in difficulty of all is that unlike FA, people are, however, com-
a horizontal H shape picked up power using a litz wire coil on monly near to EV charging equipment and the emissions from
the cross bar of the H. This system allowed one of the power the vehicle must be contained below international standards.
wires to be switched hence a carrier could go from one track to On the roadway with a moving vehicle, this may not be a
another at half rated but continuous power and it soon became problem but in a garage situation it is important that the
an essential element of IPT conveyor systems in CFA systems. magnetic field outside the footprint of the car does not exceed
In FA, IPT systems are chosen for their tolerance of dirt in field leakage limits [54], [55].
welding bays and paint shops; in CFA situations IPT systems Traditionally, practical couplers for EV systems are either
are chosen for their cleanliness and residue-free applications. circular in shape with a coil in the form of a flat Archimedean
Pickups in these and other factory applications were widely spiral placed on magnetic material or shaped like a solenoid
named according to the letter of the Latin alphabet that they using a cylindrical spiral with a magnetic material through the
most closely resembled—for example I, E, and H—but other middle of the coil. Such systems have evolved from essentially
shapes were also suggested—for example an asymmetrical track-based designs to concentrated couplers. One of the
S pickup is difficult to mount but gives almost twice the earliest systems was the Santa Barbara project [60]. Here, the
available power as a symmetrical E pickup for the same proposal focused on designs that used a track system as is
material cost [57]. A feature of all of these pickups was commonly used in materials handling even today. An extended
that they operated with relatively small air-gaps, and good loop is built and a large flat E-core pickup designed and fitted
coupling factors at high efficiency. As the technology and under buses and also under cars (in the playa vista project
its applications developed these ideal operating conditions, work). The essential problem that limited this application was
however, became more stressed. Floor-mounted systems used the unavailability of modern materials. Without ferrite and litz
two wires 100-mm apart buried under 10 mm of concrete, wire, the pickups are too heavy and without modern power
each with a current of 125 A at 20 kHz. In their primitive electronics the frequencies are too low (in the early work
form they used a flat E pickup to achieve coupling factors ∼400 Hz) rather than 20 kHz or higher. The power control
within 50% of those attainable with a monorail. In monorail means was, however, also lacking. In consequence, while the
applications, the tines on the E and H pickups could encircle concepts and designs were well thought out, the tolerance for
the track to ∼ 270°. Floor-mounted pickups could not encircle parking or moving is highly constrained, and the cost was too
even to 180° giving a low output but they could sense the wire high.
position under the concrete floor and use this information to In the early mid-90s, plug-in inductive couplers were pro-
navigate around the factory. Also, in a new innovation, extra posed [61]–[66], but while adding a level of safety they did
coils could be added to the flat E ferrite converting it into not solve the fundamental issue of having to remember to
a quadrature pickup where both the power profile and the plug in. In the late 90s and early 2000s there was significant
tolerance to misalignment are enormously improved [58], [59]: redevelopment and limited deployment of plug-less charging
in the primitive flat-E pickup power at typically 1 kW was systems. Both solenoidal and circular or oval-shaped systems
available over a misalignment of ±25 mm with an air-gap of were reinvestigated and deployed successfully with high-
10 mm; in the improved pickup operating with the same track efficiency and high-power transfers of between 20 and 60 kW,
current, this same power was available over ±150 mm. but tolerance to movement was constrained to gaps of between
The floor-mounted pickups do, however, have the whole 2 and 4 in [14], [67], and [68]. The focus then shifted to
track energized all the time and as this may be as long as improving the distances over which power could be coupled
300 m it does create a large area in the factory closed to efficiently without oversizing the magnetics.
personnel. Overhead monorails have a track 3.4-m high and
this makes them inherently safe—but not usable for EVs.
In construction, couplers are fragile and means must be A. Large Air-Gap Circular Magnetic Systems
found to protect the coils from damage. The protection usually Mecke et al. showed, based on research undertaken and pub-
entails packaging the coils in soft plastics or rubber materials lished over the preceding 4 years, that suitable power transfers
that add significantly to the bulk of the pickup without adding for charging EVs could be achieved at high-efficiency over
to its function. The situation is particularly critical as with the large air-gaps [13]. In this paper, they recognized that very
large air-gaps of several hundred millimeters were going to be

essential at high efficiency, and therefore investigated the use
of highly resonant coils constructed using litz wire on top of a
ferrite plate, carefully tuned to operate at different transmission
frequencies between 20 and 150 kHz to determine the best and
most efficient operating point. They also investigated how to
size the magnetic system for such large air-gaps. Here, they
investigated power transfers over air-gaps of up to twice the
coil diameter. Their built system, was driven from a series
tuned resonant converter and operated at 100 kHz to transfer
Fig. 2. Typical single-sided magnetic coupler designs. (a) Circular and
1 kW over an air-gap of 300 mm using matched circular (b) polarized DD.
couplers each having a coil diameter of 400 mm. The complete
system achieved an overall efficiency >80% including all the two such circular coils with a large air-gap is quite low and
power electronics. This system represented the state-of-art of the tolerance to misalignment is not as good as desired.
such systems at that time, but it did not consider the impact In 2005, there was considerable interest in research pre-
of tolerance to misalignment, and neither did it consider flux sented by Kurs et al. [52] and specifically in using circu-
leakage. As constructed with the coil at the outside of the lar coils to couple over very large air-gaps similar to that
ferrite, this pad was essentially a mono-pole resulting in fields described by Tesla [1], [2]. Of particular interest was the
which radiate out from the center of the pad and are not easily ability to transfer useful power with clearances of up to 3 m
returned and therefore, create significant leakage that must be using frequencies ∼4–6 MHz; however, this was achieved
contained [69]. using self-resonant open coils with no shielding and therefore
Similar development research was also being undertaken at concerns as to how much power can be transferred taking
Sojo Universities [70], and the University of Auckland [26] into consideration ICNIRP regulations remain. As discussed
around this period to optimize the design of the ferrite cou- earlier—to remain efficient it is desirable to have Q L /Q 2 >
plers, and this culminated in various systems discussed and 50 − 100 under operation, hence if at these higher frequencies
displayed in the late 2000s at high efficiency and with good Q L > 1000 then it is possible to have a Q 2 ≈ 10 − 20
tolerance. The system that most closely resembled Mecke’s or even higher if efficiency is not such a problem. To couple
was displayed at EVS 2009 in Stavanger and is discussed over even larger distances still, resonant repeaters can be used,
in [26]. While this Auckland system operated at a modest as originally proposed for both electric buses and lighting
20 kHz, 2 kW of power was able to be transferred over systems [71], [72] but given these repeater coils cannot be
clearances of 220 mm while also allowing lateral tolerances placed in the gap, the additional cost and bulk of these coils
of up to ±150 mm. The efficiency of the entire system was may not justify the increase in power.
over 85% (including all the power electronics) and required Nevertheless, a great deal of investigation has continued
no forced cooling as the magnetic coil loss is only 2%–3% in this area to exploit potential applications [2], however,
in each coil spread over a relatively large area and convection when commercializing inductive power technology for vehicle
cooling was sufficient for the power electronics. In this paper, charging the recent focus is on frequencies of between 20 and
a larger circular pad structure was deliberately constructed 150 kHz depending on the power level. For private vehicles
and had a flat Archimedean coil covering ∼25% of the pad’s frequencies ∼50–100 kHz are likely because of the attempt
radius (from 45% to 70%) to give the best power profile. The to find a practical balance between high efficiency and low
average coil diameter was also ∼400 mm but required a total cost, against low volume of material and low leakage. There
pad size of 700-mm diameter as shown in the photograph are a number of significant issues that need to be addressed
of Fig. 2(a). The larger pad size resulted from a desire to if the frequency is pushed higher, including finding low-cost
reduce field leakage around the pad that had become essential capacitors and suitable coil constructions [73] that can operate
because of ICNIRP guidelines [54], [55]. This field reduction in the megahertz region to carry the necessary currents at high
was achieved by extending the ferrite out beyond the coil to efficiency, as discussed by [2]. For applications at lower power
essentially capture the returning main flux, and also included that can tolerate lower efficiency these frequencies appear
an aluminum ring to help shape the flux and direct it toward promising to enable smaller magnetics with low leakage.
the opposing pad [26], [33] to create an essentially single-
sided field. For stationary charging applications of vehicles
with circular pads, the vehicle must be parked such that the B. Polarized Solenoidal Magnetic Systems
pads are in close alignment as if the misalignment gets offset With conventional coupled systems, the poor coupling abil-
by around ±40% of the pad diameter (which is the limit of ity of circular pads is largely because significant flux paths
the coil), the coupled power falls to zero. The advantages of cannot have a footprint beyond the coil, which in the circular
these circular pads are that the vehicle can approach them from pads with low leakage is ∼50% of the pad diameter. Thus,
any direction, and the emissions are relatively low for a given to a first approximation, the highest flux paths are lower than
power transfer providing as suggested, the ferrite is extended the overall pad diameter divided by four [41]. With different
beyond the coil. Even so, compared with the power and size pad structures, called polarized pads, the flux height, however,
demands from the automotive industry, the power output from can be significantly higher at the expense of limiting access.
Thus, for example, a polarized pad can only be approached

in one direction, whereas as noted a circular pad can be
approached from any direction but for the polarized pad, the
gain in flux height is essentially a factor of two times higher
than for a circular coil with the same linear dimension, corre-
sponding to coupling factor k that may be 20%–25% higher.
The first polarized coils used essentially a flat ferrite plate with
a solenoidal coil wound on it to produce high arching fluxes
out both sides of the pad [60], [67], [74]. Only one of these
is required therefore the other is suppressed by covering that
half of the winding with aluminum or copper. In this form,
the extra copper/aluminum losses may reduce the native Q of
the coil to significantly <100 and make a relatively high-loss
pickup coupling system. Improvements to such a system were
suggested [28], [29] but as shown expected magnetic losses
can be as high as 10% when ideally not more than 2%–4% is
desirable. These coils also produce a strong horizontal flux out
the ends of the pad and this is particularly difficult to suppress
to limit field leakage concerns. In some system designs, ade-
quate suppression is achieved with H shaped ferrite structures
[28]–[30] by raising the frequency of operation to near Fig. 3. Untuned output power of various single-sided topologies with lateral
100 kHz, and rotating the ground coil through 90° hence the movement at a clearance of 125 mm with I1 = 23 A at 20 kHz. (a) Circular
unwanted flux is north/south in the car and as cars are longer on circular. (b) DD on DD. (c) DD on circular.
in that direction there are more possibilities to reduce the flux.
that it is ideal for stationary charging given that smaller sized
couplers could potentially be used for the same power transfer
C. Single-Sided Couplers: Circular Versus Polarized if required. In addition, as discussed later in Section VI, it is
also ideal for dynamic powering in roadway applications.
Single-sided polarized coils such as the double-D (DD)
Of particular importance is the need to keep the system
[31] have developed from the solenoidal coil in an attempt
on the car as small as possible, and given polarized systems
to further improve the unloaded coil Q. Here, a flat planar
have excellent coupling capability, one possibility is to have a
bed of striated ferrite is used in place of the solid ferrite plate
circular primary that is slightly larger, and a smaller polarized
in the solenoidal coil as shown in the photograph of Fig. 2(b).
secondary, which would bring together the benefits of both
The striated ferrite enables a weight reduction and changes
systems. As shown in [33] and in Fig. 3(c) for the designs with
the reluctance hence the plate is more permeable along the
identical areas, such a polarized and circular system can be
ferrite and less permeable across it. The DD pad uses two
interoperable, but there are now two regions where power can
flat Archimedean circular spiral coils made of litz wire, lying
be usefully coupled but not where they are perfectly aligned.
flat on the striated ferrite and touching along a common line
An issue of concern, however, is the potential flux leakage and
that is at right angles to the striated ferrite direction. These
heating effects that could result because of the need for such
two coils may be wound with one piece of wire. The line of
an offset in operation.
contact is extended by loosening the windings near to it. This
forms a structure where two spiral coils merge into a flux-pipe
between them. The winding sense of the coils is such that if D. Single-Sided Multicoil Polarized Couplers
one is instantaneously a north pole the other is a south pole New magnetic structures have also derived from the DD
hence a typical flux path travels through the ferrite to a pole coil topology to enhance the interoperability of the magnetic
piece at the center of one of the spiral coils, it arches high design either as a primary or as a secondary system (or both)
through air to the other pole piece, and returns to the starting [31]–[34]. These topologies enable almost all of the features of
point through the ferrite. both the circular and simple polarized magnetic designs to be
Like the circular pad of Fig. 2(a), this DD pad in Fig. 2(b) included but with useful improvements. Because of their coil
only produces flux out the coil side of the ferrite—there is no structures that are designed to be magnetically independent
flux out the back, and minimal flux out the ends of the ferrite. (although existing within the same ferrite structure), they can
It requires no aluminum to screen it but may use aluminum capture and use almost all of the flux present providing they
behind the ferrite for structural integrity. Typically, the pickup are oriented correctly (as for polarized systems). Conceptually,
coil will have a Q L > 350 [31]. The outputs of a matched pair they capture both the sine and cosine of the flux vector and
of circular and DD couplers having almost identical areas and are therefore quadrature systems as described following. They
inductances were compared under identical driving conditions can be used for both stationary charging and for dynamic
(V1 and I1 are the same at 20 kHz) [31], and as shown in applications and they can also be used in both single-phase
Fig. 3, the DD system has a much wider coverage in both the and three-phase applications without compromise. They are
x- and y-directions and launches flux so high in the z-direction tolerant to misalignment and to significant variations in the air-
Aluminium backing Aluminium backing 300

BP-Simulated
Ferrite DD Coils Coil 1 Coil 2 250 BP-Measured
200 DDQ-Simulated
Psu (VA)
DDQ-Measured
150
100
50
Circular Primary
0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400
Quadrature Coil Ferrite X-displacement
(a)
(a) ( b) 250
BP-Simulated
Fig. 4. Multicoil single-sided magnetic coupler designs. (a) DDQ. (b) BP. 200 BP-Measured
DDQ-Simulated
150 DDQ-Measured
Psu (VA)
100
50
0
Circular Primary
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400
Y-displacement
(b)
800
BP-Simulated
700
BP-Measured
600
DDQ-Simulated
500
Psu (VA)
DDQ-Measured
400
300
Fig. 5. Untuned output power of a DDQ secondary on a circular or DD 200

topologies with lateral movement at 125-mm gap with I1 = 23 A at 20 kHz. 100
(a) DDQ on circular. (b) DDQ on DD. 0
DD Primary
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400
X-displacement
gap spacing. Given the desire to be interoperable with many (c)
800
possible systems, the focus to date is on secondary systems as BP-Simulated
700
described following. 600
BP-Measured
DDQ-Simulated
1) DDQ Coupler: As an example of such a mutlicoil 500
DDQ-Measured
Psu (VA)
pad the DD pickup may be converted to a DDQ coil by 400
adding a third coil in quadrature [31], [33] and shown in 300
Fig 4(a). This coil is also a flat Archimedean spiral essen- 200
100
tially circular or slightly squarish coil that is placed sym- DD Primary
0
metrically across the line of touching of the two original 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400
Y-displacement
coils in the DD. If the two original coils (combined) are (d)
regarded as a single winding d-axis coil this third coil is
a q-axis coil and the output of the (combined) d-axis coil Fig. 6. Measured and simulated comparisons of un-tuned output power
at 127 mm gap with lateral misalignment between pads. Each primary is
is orthogonal (in quadrature) to the output of the new q- energized with I1 = 15 A at 20 kHz showing the performance of a DDQ
axis coil. It is a simple matter to increase the size of or BP secondary on: (a) a circular primary with x-displacement, (b) a
the q-axis coil to make its output commensurate with the circular primary with y-displacement, (c) a DD primary with x-displacement,
(d) a DD primary with y-displacement.
d-axis giving a true d–q axes pickup. Thus, in a pickup
situation comprising d and q components this pickup coil is
sensitive to both of them and can take power from both of 2) Bipolar Coupler: Another multicoil coupler called a
them as shown in Fig. 5. Here as shown, the use of this DDQ bipolar (BP) design also includes magnetically independent
pad on a vehicle enables a power zone which is around three coils [34] shown in Fig. 4(b). Its operation may be visualized
times larger irrespective of whether the ground pad is circular by considering the two coils lying on the striated ferrite such
[see Fig. 5(a)] or polarized [see Fig. 5(b)], compared with that the line of centers is along the direction of the ferrite. If
that which can be achieved using matched circular—circular the coils are now made larger, but keeping the line of centers
or matched polarized to polarized in Fig. 3. Notably, if a DD the same, then at some point where the two coils overlap
primary is used then coupling and power transfers are better they can be designed to be orthogonal to each other. At this
suited to large air-gaps, but the ability to align the vehicle in point, the outputs from the two coils are uncorrelated and
any direction is not possible. they can be used independently, and tuned independently, with
In another very important way, the DDQ pick up, however, independent outputs. As a secondary (vehicle) coupler, the
may be seen as essentially a two-phase coil and it can be output from a BP pad is almost identical (<10% difference)
used with a three-phase excitation coil (under the road) if the to that of the DDQ irrespective of whether it operates from
wavelengths of the flux patterns are more or less equal as a circular or DD primary, as shown in Fig. 6 [34], but this
shown in similar research with AGV track systems [58], [59]. BP coupler uses between 25% and 30% less copper in its
construction. While the DDQ is very versatile in that the Q use three-wires in delta, or four wires in star, or six wires as
coil can be made any size desired relative to the DD coil, three independent phases. Some of these wiring choices are
here both coils of the BP must be identical. Nevertheless, it particularly difficult to tune. But they can produce usefully
is also interoperable with either single-, two-phase or three- high outputs and have found application in street cars and
phase tracks or couplers. Naturally, either the DDQ or the trains particularly where there is a known and fixed separation
BP coupler could be used as the primary (ground) pad and in the magnetics and room under the vehicle (such as in light
used to couple to any range of secondary (vehicle) pads. This rail or buses) to create a matched three-phase to three-phase
would require a second synchronized power supply to enable system [77], [78].
the independent coils to be driven separately, but could then
enable simple circular, solenoid or DD pads to be used on the
VI. P OWERING EV S W IRELESSLY ON THE M OVE
vehicle side under stationary charging conditions.
As described above, IPT systems hold the promise of
charging EVs without wires. Hands-free charging simply
E. Three-Phase Magnetic Systems involves parking over a charging pad and the system will
Today, the complete coupled system for an EV charger as automatically connect and charge the battery in a process that
described above is essentially a single phase one extending is truly opportunistic and can be repeated many times per
from a single-phase power supply driving a single-phase day whenever the vehicle is stationary, and the opportunity
ground pad, coupled to a single-phase secondary pad with arises. In the most stringent stationary charging application for
one or more coils under the vehicle, each with a single- IPT systems so far, couplers used on a roadside must transfer
phase resonant circuit and associated control. Alternatively, power from a ground pad buried in the road to a pad in a
two- or three-phase systems may use two- or three-phase vehicle some 250-mm above it with a possible misalignment
ground pads coupled to single-, two- or three-phase vehicle of 150–200 mm in any direction. The coupling pads may be
pads, and a variety of processing circuits. Two-phase pads circular, elliptical, oval, or rectangular and today will usually
such as the BP pad operating with currents in each coil at have single sided coils to optimize their coupling efficiency
90° as described in [32] were found to be less effective than and reduce the losses. As discussed in Section V, an obvious
the DD single-phase generator described above and require choice of pads is a DD pad on the ground with either a DDQ or
two synchronized generators. Three-phase ground pads may BP pad on the vehicle. As noted, the pads do need a protective
comprise three single-phase pads or one pad specially designed covering that is usually polyurethane on the car pad and a
for three-phase operation and were proposed [74], [75] and suitable material on the ground pad. The ground pad may need
applied in various commercial systems [76]–[78]. At present, special strengthening if vehicle wheels can run over it as the
it is not clear which is the better system. Single-phase systems fragile ferrite in its core is always an issue.
are potentially lower cost but three-phase systems may produce In a more challenging mode, power transfer may be estab-
better coupling results, particularly at higher powers, with lished with the EV while it is being driven along the road in
larger air-gaps and possibly in dynamic applications, however, a lane that includes wiring to create a magnetic field that the
they are also necessarily large. vehicle drives above. This is the ultimate EV experience—an
Three-phase IPT pickup systems operate in a similar fashion EV with no range anxiety, that does not need long charging
to three-phase linear induction motors except that the traveling times, and that is more efficient than any other EV can ever be
magnetic field in an IPT system moves at such high speed as the power flow is essentially from the road directly to the
that positive and negative sequences are not so important as wheel motors bypassing the battery that maintains its charge
the concept of slip has no meaning. Usually, with a three- principally by scavenging energy as available. For systems to
phase system a three-phase generator would be used with a be developed and then installed with confidence by municipal
three-phase track and three-phase pickups, but as these pickups or government authorities, several decisions, however, need
can be very large a better option may well be to use single- to be made to ensure compatibility of the best magnetic
phase pickups with a DDQ or BP pickup to give continuous couplers by the various suppliers and car manufacturers that
output power. Three-phase systems can also be used with are targeting this technology, particularly given the investment
a single-phase pickup covering ∼0.8 of one cycle of the is likely to be high (perhaps as much as 10% of a highway
ground pad’s magnetic field pattern [75]. This single-phase lane) and needs to last for up to 30 years. Thus, the focus of
option is convenient but it has implementation difficulties as new research is to determine not only the best frequency of
the pickup can never present a balanced load to the three- operation (something that needs to be agreed across a number
phase primary and any unbalance shows as one phase with of interested parties), but also the power transfer rates/meter-
essentially resistive loading, and the other two phases with squared over defined clearances and tolerances, a selection of
reactive loads—one capacitive and one inductive. The DDQ robust magnetics that are compatible between various suppliers
and BP pads present a better load to the track than a single and suitable for the application (that includes light, medium,
coil structure given they are essentially two-phase systems, and potentially heavy duty vehicles) while size and weight
and while ideally their pole spacing should be optimized to limits also need to be addressed on board the vehicle. Despite
match the track pole width, the variation in heights and power the enormous challenges, this is an ideal situation that only
demands between classes of vehicles makes this optimization IPT can possibly deliver, therefore steps toward it must be
an on-going and significant challenge. Three-phase tracks may considered as discussed below.
the engine (perhaps through a super capacitor for smoothing)

rather than to the battery, as there can be as much as 10%–
20% loss in transferring energy into and out of modern battery
packs [81]. As such IPT supplied direct to the power drive
could well be as efficient as stationary charging even though
the vehicle is not perfectly aligned. In addition, as shown
by [40], such power control is the only means by which
EVs can compete with ICEs in terms of range and efficient
performance. The concept as discussed is validated using a
Fig. 7. Conceptual inductive roadway lane with separately energized pads.
laboratory scale setup in Fig. 8 using scaled versions of these
DD pads at road-level and a DDQ secondary for the vehicle
The ability of these new polarized pads with two inde- side pad. As discussed [82], the DD pads can be spaced
pendent coils in the secondary to provide flux over a much appropriately to give a relatively smooth power profile over
wider surface makes them much better candidates for dynamic a wide tolerance, and while Fig. 8(c) shows the untuned
operation enabling a vehicle to travel from pad to pad coupling power available with three ground pads turned on, in practice
power dynamically as it proceeds. When operated from a only two need to operate to transfer the required power.
DD primary, they are particularly tolerant to movement with In Fig. 8(d), the evaluation was taken only to ±200 mm,
lateral displacements in both x- and y-directions as shown in however, the greatest power is coupled in the quadrature coil
Fig. 6, hence the overall coupling stays high over the useful at 220-mm offset and it is possible to have misalignments
working area. With circular-to-circular pads this is not possible even in this scaled prototype of up to ±300 mm. It is also
as the loss of coupling between the pads with even small possible to detect the relative misalignment of the vehicle on
movements reduces the power too much to make dynamic the road and use this to assist the driver to stay within this
operation feasible [31]. power transfer zone as is presently done for AGV systems in
Over the past two decades two particular developments industry as discussed in Section IV. This research is continuing
worth noting have shown that inductive roadway power is to determine the size of the couplers necessary for a roadway
possible. The KAIST system as recently proposed [42]–[45] system at suitable power levels of up to 30–40 kW and beyond.
uses essentially a polarized track configuration with long
segmented track coils and polarized secondaries (similar to the VII. C ONTROL OF THE IPT S YSTEM
DD) under the vehicle. Power nulls are noticeable when the
vehicle secondary is operating between the poles pieces under Controlling power flow in IPT systems is a problem com-
the ground. The Bombardier system [77], [78] uses a three- mon to virtually all IPT systems. In principle, there are three
phase magnetic track and can transfer power to large vehicles. options available and choosing the best one may affect the
Again the track lengths are long and well suited to large efficiency by as much as 10%–20% as follows:
vehicles but not so well suited for smaller private vehicles. 1) secondary side control;
As proposed by Bolger [79] and Ross [80], energized track 2) primary side control;
sections should be limited for efficiency reasons, and ideally 3) a combination controller affecting both the primary and
these sections should be smaller than a vehicle’s length to the secondary.
localize the power coupling and avoid energizing and heating In early commercial applications of inductive power trans-
unwanted loads [41]. This ensures that the system is efficient fer, the object is to couple power to multiple loads operating
under operation but requires a larger number of smaller pads off of a single track. As such the most common control
(perhaps as small as 1 m2 ) to be laid down under the road and approach is secondary side control where the track current and
separately energized as each vehicle requiring or requesting frequency are held nominally constant, and each secondary
power passes over it. The concept as shown in Fig. 7 suggests independently regulated its power as required by its load
using an IPT system to provide energy under the roadway [3], [7]. This type of control essentially varies Q 2 and it is a
in an isolated and safe manner to intermediate power couplers reasonably efficient system but has high-loss in low-demand
under each pad in the roadway. This arrangement avoids using applications where the track current has to be maintained at
utility mains or dc under the roadway that is often prohibited all times even though no power is being transferred. In such
for safety reasons in many countries. The pads can then be cases, it is important that the secondary remains on tune so
pulsed on directly under a moving vehicle at a set power that the lowest Q 2 possible may be used to deliver the power
level suitable for the vehicle traveling on the road (e.g., a demanded [83].
higher current may be used for a vehicle demanding high For charging applications where there is one supply for
power and a larger road clearance). This enables a wave of each coupled load, there is a tendency to operate using
power to be created where the secondary is located where the only primary side control [84]–[86]. This entails regulating
coupling is strongest. Such power would need to be regulated both the primary current in the magnetic pad and also the
on the vehicle side but as discussed in the control Section frequency (if desired) to regulate the secondary—that usually
VII—a combination of primary and secondary control is by far has only a simple rectifier and filter. In consequence, there
the most efficient means of energy transfer. Further efficiency can be a considerable efficiency gain at light load over pure
gains are, however, achieved if the power is delivered direct to secondary control, but a wireless communication link between
too much power is found to be coupled—in such cases, a

combination of primary and secondary side control is then
possible without adding significantly to the cost. Primary side
control on its own, is not desirable in multiple pickup materials
handling systems given that this would vary the power transfer
to all the pickups simultaneously and would be problematic in
operation as a secondary needing more power would have to
increase its operating Q 2 considerably, and increase its loss.
This increase is limited in practice by the loss in each of the
components in the resonant tank, and as such it may not be
able to supply the needed power.
(a) A controller that can vary both the track current and the
secondary Q 2 so that the loss in the primary side is equal to
the combined loss in all the secondary side controllers enables
the best system of all [87]. This is useful in both materials
handling and charging applications. For materials handling,
under lightly loaded conditions the track current can be low
and a small number of pickups will operate at a high Q 2 to
obtain power—providing the track current remains sufficiently
(b)
high to enable power to be delivered. In heavy load conditions,
a larger track current may be used so that the pickups operate
efficiently at a low Q 2 . For charging applications it was shown
[87] that the efficiency can be improved using a combination
of both controllers to operate over a wide load range at >90%.
A few controllers exercise control by simply allowing the
frequency to vary and then choosing option 1, 2, or 3. These
variable frequency systems can improve the efficiency by
being perfectly tuned but are difficult to use in multiple
pickup situations where the pickups are tuned at different
frequencies. Other options include retuning the system using
additional VAR correction mechanisms on either the primary
or secondary side [3], however, these systems are often bulky
(c) and costly that is also undesirable. For dynamic IPT roadway
applications, there is clearly no time to retune and therefore
a variation of option 3 is preferred, where the roadway pad
current is set for the vehicle power demand and the secondary
controller regulates the power.
For stationary charging EV systems, there is now consider-
able research regarding means to enable EV loads to work as
a controlled load on a smart grid. This is particularly desirable
given it was shown [41], [88], that EVs balance the available
green but fluctuable sources such as wind, wave, and solar
that governments would like to use to increase the supply mix
but that also create potential stability issues. Both bidirectional
and unidirectional inductive options exist [41], [76], [88]–[91],
although the extra electronics and power control necessary to
enable bidirectional power flow needs to be justified, given
(d) unidirectional power flow can provide much of the benefits
with little more than a smart control algorithm [92], [93].
Fig. 8. (a) Experimental and (b) simulated laboratory scale setup of a roadway For dynamic power transfer on highways, there is a little
system comprising DDQ secondary on DD ground pads. (c) Measured and
simulated untuned power (matching within 1%) with 23 A at 20 kHz in time available to consider power flow back to the mains, and
each DD pad with a pitch of 425 mm and pad clearance (σ z) of 200 mm. unidirectional demand control is a simpler option with clear
(d) Possible 3.5-kW power zones with a Q 2 = 6 and x ≤ ±200 mm showing benefits.
which coil is required to provide power.
VIII. C ONCLUSION
the primary and secondary is essential to enable safe power
regulation. Generally, however, the secondary also needs a This paper reviewed the challenge ahead to create low-cost
protection switch to shut off power in a system failure where inductively coupled EVs operating under stringent conditions
that compared with the state-of-the-art 15 years ago require [17] Y. Kamiya, M. Nakaoka, T. Sato, J. Kusaka, Y. Daisho, S. Takahashi, and
10–100 times larger clearances and tolerances for similar or K. Narusawa, “Development and performance evaluation of advanced
electric micro bus equipped with non-contact inductive rapid-charging
higher efficiency. Here, traditional circular pad technology system,” in Proc. 23rd Int. Electr. Veh. Symp., 2007, pp. 1–14.
is challenged by polarized pads giving greater height and [18] S. Judek and K. Karwowski, “Supply of electric vehicles via magneti-
versatility. A variety of such pads are available offering options cally coupled air coils,” in Proc. 13th Power Electron. Motion Control
Conf., Sep. 2008, pp. 1497–1504.
that are interoperable with each other and with circular pads [19] M. Dockhorn, D. Kurschner, and R. Mecke, “Contactless power trans-
without a significant loss in power or efficiency. The more mission with new secondary converter topology,” in Proc. 13th Power
modern polarized pads and their combinations may be used for Electron. Motion Control Conf., 2008, pp. 1734–1739.
[20] J. L. Villa, J. Sallán, A. Llombart, and J. F. Sanz, “Design of a high
stationary charging (BEV) or dynamic charging (EV) without frequency Inductively coupled power transfer system for electric vehicle
restrictions hence EVs on the road can be powered at high battery charge,” Appl. Energy, vol. 86, no. 3, pp. 355–363, 2009.
efficiency from renewables or any other source as they move. [21] S. Valtchev, B. Borges, K. Brandisky, and J. B. Klaassens, “Resonant
contactless energy transfer with improved efficiency,” IEEE Trans.
Progress from here will require the construction of pad sets Power Electron., vol. 24, no. 3, pp. 685–699, Mar. 2009.
that can last in a roadway for 30 years or more and continue [22] J. Sallen, J. L. Villa, A. Llombart, and J. F. Sanz, “Optimal design of
to operate efficiently over their lifetime despite changes in ICPT systems applied to electric vehicle battery charge,” IEEE. Trans.
Ind. Electron., vol. 56, no. 6, pp. 2140–2149, Jun. 2009.
technology. [23] C.-Y. Huang, J. T. Boys, G. A. Covic, and M. Budhia, “Practical
considerations for designing IPT system for EV battery charging,” in
ACKNOWLEDGMENT Proc. IEEE Veh. Power Propuls. Conf., Sep. 2009, pp. 402–407.
[24] V.V. Haerri, U. K. Madawala, D. J. Thrimawithana, R. Arnold, and
The authors would like to thank Dr. Budhia for providing A. Maksimovic, “A plug in hybrid ‘Blue Angel III’ for vehicle to
the figures for the roadway powered analysis. grid system with a wireless grid interface,” in Proc. IEEE Veh. Power
Propuls. Conf., Sep. 2010, pp. 1–5.
[25] A. J. Moradewicz and M. P. Kazmierkowski, “Contactless energy
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[87] H. H. Wu, A. Gilchrist, K. D. Sealy, and D. Bronson, “A high efficiency John Talbot Boys received the B.E., M.E., and
5 kW inductive charger for EVs using dual side control,” IEEE Trans. Ph.D. degrees in electrical and electronic engi-
Ind. Inf., vol. 8, no. 3, pp. 585–595, Aug. 2012. neering from the University of Auckland (UoA),
[88] J. T. Boys and J. R. Lee, “Power quality with green energy, DDC, and Auckland, New Zealand, in 1963, 1965, and 1968,
inductively powered EV’s,” in Proc. IEEE 33rd Int. Telecommun. Energy respectively.
Conf., Oct. 2011, pp. 1–8. He was with SPS Technologies for five years
[89] J. R. Lee, J. T. Boys, and G. A. Covic, “Communications requirements before returning to academia as a Lecturer with
and performance of a distributed demand control system,” in Proc. IEEE the University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New
37th Annu. Conf. Ind. Electron. Soc., Nov. 2011, pp. 2711–2716. Zealand. He moved to Auckland in 1977, where
[90] U. K. Madawala and D. J. Thrimawithana, “A bidirectional inductive he developed his work in power electronics and
power interface for electric vehicles in V2G systems,” IEEE Trans. Ind. inductive power transfer. He is currently a Professor
Electron., vol. 58, no. 10, pp. 4789–4796, Oct. 2011. Emeritus with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, UoA.
[91] U. K. Madawala, M. Neath, and D. J. Thrimawithana, “A power- He is Co-Founder of Halo-IPT, now Qualcomm Halo, San Diego, CA, USA,
frequency controller for bidirectional inductive power transfer systems,” specializing in IPT applications with electric vehicles. He has published more
IEEE Trans. Ind. Electron., vol. 60, no. 1, pp. 310–317, Jan. 2013. than 100 papers in international journals and he is the holder of more than 20
[92] M. A. Fasugba and P. T. Krein, “Gaining vehicle-to-grid benefits with U.S. patents from which licenses in specialized application areas have been
unidirectional electric and plug-in hybrid vehicle chargers,” in Proc. granted around the world.
IEEE Veh. Power Propuls. Conf., Sep. 2011, pp. 1–6. Dr. Boys is a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand and a Distin-
[93] M. A. Fasugba and P. T. Krein, “Cost benefits and vehicle-to-grid guished Fellow of the Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand.
regulation services of unidirectional charging of electric vehicles,” in
Proc. IEEE Energy Convers. Congr. Exposit., Sep. 2011, pp. 827–834.
Grant Anthony Covic (S’88–M’89–SM’04)

received the B.E. (Hons.) and Ph.D. degrees in
electrical and electronic engineering from the
University of Auckland (UoA), Auckland, New
Zealand, in 1986 and 1993, respectively.
He was a full-time Lecturer in 1992, a Senior
Lecturer in 2000, an Associate Professor in 2007,
and a Professor in 2013 with the Electrical and
Computer Engineering Department, UoA. In 2010,
he cofounded (with Dr. Boys at the UoA) a new
global start-up company HaloIPT focusing on
electric vehicle (EV) wireless charging infrastructure, which was sold in
2011. He holds a number of U.S. patents, with many more pending, in the
area of inductive (contactless) power transfer (IPT). He is currently the Head
of power electronics research with UoA and co-leads the interoperability
sub-team within the SAE J2954 wireless charging standard for EVs. He
has published more than 100 refereed papers in international journals and
conferences. His current research interests include power electronics, electric
vehicle battery charging, and IPT.

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28 IEEE JOURNAL OF EMERGING AND SELECTED TOPICS IN POWER ELECTRONICS, VOL. 1, NO.

Modern Trends in Inductive Power Transfer for

large air-gaps of several hundred millimeters were going to be

Thus, for example, a polarized pad can only be approached

Aluminium backing Aluminium backing 300

Fig. 5. Untuned output power of a DDQ secondary on a circular or DD 200

pad the DD pickup may be converted to a DDQ coil by 400

adding a third coil in quadrature [31], [33] and shown in 300

the engine (perhaps through a super capacitor for smoothing)

too much power is found to be coupled—in such cases, a

Grant Anthony Covic (S’88–M’89–SM’04)

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