2020 BMW Charging Pilot StationBMW receives the Green Car Journa's Green Car Technology of the Year award for brand's advanced Inductive Charging Pilot Program. It allows participating BMW customers to test and provide feedback on using wireless inductive technology in order to charge their 530e plug-in hybrid sedan, instead of having to plug the vehicle in a wall-mounted charging box.

The pilot program began in Germany in 2018 and gradually expands to the US. Available in the state of California for a small group of qualifying residential home customers, the program includes a 36-month lease of a specially equipped 530e sedan and home installation of the inductive charging equipment.

BMW Wireless Charging consists of an Inductive Charging Station and a secondary vehicle component fixed to the underside of the vehicle. The contactless transfer of energy between the GroundPad and CarPad is completed over a distance of about three inches. The inductive charging components generate a magnetic field, which allows for the safe transfer of energy with an efficiency rate of around 85 percent.

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The system has a charging power of 3.2kW, enabling the high-voltage batteries on board the BMW 530e to be fully charged in around three and a half hours.

2020 BMW Charging Pilot Station

Source: BMW