Using technology similar to that available in an electric toothbrush, Google is trialing a Plugless Power charging station for electric vehicles at its Mountain View, Calif. headquarters. Plugless Power is the first electric vehicle (EV) charging system on the market to offer consumers a way to charge their EVs automatically without connecting power cables.
Developed by Evatran, LLC, Plugless Power is based on inductive technology, which has been used in electrical transformers for more than 100 years.
Google has multiple low-speed electric vehicles for short-range travel around its campus and includes plug-in vehicles in its on-campus employee car-sharing program. The company will initially use the Plugless Power station to charge a retrofitted short-range electric vehicle. Google showed interest in testing the Plugless Power technology and understanding how its features could simplify the charging process for its plug-in EV fleet vehicles, Plugless Power said in a release.
According to Tom Hough, co-founder and CEO of Plugless Power, Evatran is actively seeking other fleet trial opportunities with corporations and municipalities for 3Q11.
Most EV models are eligible for Plugless Power through a simple retrofit process, the company says. In addition to fleet distribution, Evatran is currently working with automotive manufacturers to integrate the Plugless Power technology into mass-market EVs by 2012.
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