Japanese firm develops wireless charging system for electric vehicles

Japanese electronic components maker TDK has developed a wireless charging system for electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, which it hopes will be in use around 2018.

The system allows for charging a parked car without using a cable or plug. TDK also says the system can even be placed on roads to provide charging while driving, Xinhua reported Tuesday citing a Nikkei report.

In April, TDK acquired a patent portfolio from WiTricity, a Massachusetts-based engineering company. The new system combines knowhow from WiTricity with TDK's magnetic coil technology.

TDK says the system can function even when the sending and receiving coils are more than 10 cm apart. It will present samples of its system to car manufacturers in the first half of 2015.

The Tokyo-based company has also been testing its charging-while-driving technology on a 30-metre circular test course, with six sending coils placed underneath the road's surface at five-metre intervals.

Toyota and Nissan are conducting tests to prepare for implementation of wireless charging technology.