Washington e-buses get 300kw wireless charging system

Pennsylvania-based Momentum Dynamics, a self-proclaimed “global leader” in high-powered wireless charging for electric vehicles, is to supply 10 of its 300kW wireless charging systems for use by new battery-electric BYD K9S buses recently delivered to Link Transit in Wenatchee, Washington.

Momentum Dynamics will supply three new on-route charging stations to Link Transit, building on an existing relationship which saw the two companies build the United States’ first 200kW wireless charging system for battery-electric transit buses.

The company says its wireless charging system is highly efficient in terms of both energy utilisation as well as the numbers of chargers required. Each charging pad is rated at 75kW and, by specifying multiple pads, vehicles can be rated up to 300-450kW per bus.

The same system can also be used with passenger cars, taxes, and delivery vehicles, and can be used as both an on-route charging station or in-depot use.

Installed below the ground or on the pavement inside garages, charging happens automatically without any human intervention and serves as a highly effective means of providing vehicle energy because it can keep a vehicle charged and in service indefinitely while substantially extending the useful life of the battery.

Link Transit will now be able to wirelessly charge its 10 new BYD K9S buses, which have a range of up to 350 kilometres, can seat up to 32 passengers, and can be fully charged in 3 to 4 hours.

BYD (Build Your Dreams) announced last week that it had completed the delivery of 10 battery-electric K9S buses to Link Transit, the public transit authority of Chelan and Douglas counties in the US state of Washington. The final two buses complete the order of 10, following the delivery of 8 buses before the shutdown caused by the global COVID-19 pandemic.

All of the buses were fitted with wireless charging receivers by Momentum Dynamics to ensure they would work with the new wireless charging system.

“We’ve been operating the first eight since mid-March and they have been a huge help to our system,” said Richard DeRock, General Manager of Link Transit. “They have far exceeded our expectations with their performance.”

“We are proud to be working with such a forward-thinking agency as Link Transit in providing cleaner, quieter transportation service to Chelan and Douglas counties,” said BYD North America Vice President Patrick Duan. “The delivery of these buses is a great milestone for Link’s clean technology operations and for BYD as it ramps up production after the COVID-19 shut down.”