BMW working on a wireless inductive charging system

BMW has announced plans to develop a wireless inductive charging system for their plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles.

Set to arrive in the mid-term, the system will consist of a floor-mounted base plate and an extremely lightweight charging coil at the bottom of the car. BMW says the system will have a charging rate of 3.6 kW and an efficiency factor of over 90 percent. While this isn't as good as a conventional charger, the company says a plug-in hybrid vehicle can be fully charged in less than three hours. In the future, the charging rate could increase to 7 kW which would significantly reduce that time.

To use the system, drivers would simply park on top of the base plate and activate the charging process. This should be a relatively easy as the vehicle and charging station communicate with each other to help guide the driver to the base plate.