The automotive professional organization SAE International has approved a new standard for the wireless charging of electric vehicles. Called SAE TIR J2954 Wireless Power Transfer for Light-Duty Plug-In/ Electric Vehicles and Alignment Methodology, the new standard covers wireless power transfer between infrastructure, vehicle suppliers and OEMs for plug-in electric and electric vehicles (PH/EV). The document will be available from the SAE website on May 31st.
The standard covers safety and electromagnetic limits, efficiency and interoperability targets, as well as a test setup for the acceptance of WPT. It is also completely different than wireless charging schemes defined for small appliances such as smart phones.
SAE says the new standard is the first step in standardization for vehicles and was developed by SAE International’s PH/EV Wireless Power Transfer committee, established in 2010.
“This first in a series of documents will enable consumers to simply park their vehicles into spaces equipped with TIR J2954 equipment and walk away without doing anything to charge their PH/EV,” said Jesse Schneider, Chair of SAE International’s Wireless Power Transfer committee and Fuel Cell, Electric Vehicle and Standards Development Manager at BMW North America. “Standardization of both the vehicle and ground infrastructure WPT has started with SAE TIR J2954. The frequency band, safety, interoperability, EMC/ EMF limits as well as coil definitions from SAE TIR J2954 enable any compatible vehicle to charge wirelessly from its WPT home charger, work, or a shopping mall WPT charger, etc. with the same charging ability. All of this makes it possible to seamlessly transfer power over an air gap with high efficiencies. SAE TIR J2954 WPT automates the process for charging and extends the range for the vehicle customer only by parking in the right spot.”
SAE TIR J2954 establishes a common frequency band using 85 kHz (81.39 – 90 kHz) for all light duty vehicle systems. In addition, four classes PH/EV of wireless power transfer levels were defined in the new standard. Future revisions may include even higher power levels:
3.7 kW (WPT 1) specified in TIR J2954
7.7 kW (WPT 2) specified in TIR J2954
11 kW (WPT 3) to be specified in revision of J2954
22 kW (WPT 4) to be specified in revision of J2954
TIR J2954 WPT-compatible systems have been built by automakers and suppliers and are currently under test with a cross-industry team with the U..S Dept. of Energy, Idaho and Argonne National Labs. The test data, first in the bench and later in the vehicle, will be used to finalize the Standard by 2018 to support the roll out of this technology.
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