BMW’s Inductive Charging Pilot Program Receives Honors From Green Car Journal

BMW recently won an award for Green Car Technology of the Year thanks to its Inductive Charging Pilot Program that is available on plug-in hybrid models like the 530e. This program allows participating BMW customers to give valuable feedback on the user experience over a period of time.

Plug-in hybrids are most commonly charged by using a standard wall-mounted charging box through a wired connection. The Inductive Charging Pilot Program aims to eliminate the need for cords so drivers of standard plug-in hybrids like the 530e can recharge their vehicle’s battery by simply parking over a wireless charging pad.

Green Car Journal makes it a point to cover economically conscious vehicles and the technology that makes them so innovative. The publication considered other new technology programs before ultimately giving BMW the honor with Green Car Technology of the Year.

“BMW Wireless Charging represents a milestone in the evolution of vehicle electrification, making owning and driving a plug-in hybrid vehicle an even more seamless experience,” said Ron Cogan, Editor and Publisher of Green Car Journal.

So what makes this wireless charging system possible? It almost seems too good to be true.

BMW Wireless Charging uses an Inductive Charging Station (GroundPad) and a secondary vehicle component (CarPad) fixed to the underside of the vehicle. There is a contactless transfer of energy between the GroundPad and CarPad completed through a magnetic field that achieves an efficiency rate of nearly 85 percent.

“Today’s pairing of BMW’s innovative inductive charging and 530e plug-in hybrid illustrates how the future of automatic electric vehicle charging can be as simple as parking your car,” said Cogan.

BMW first started testing the pilot program in 2018 before it finally expanded to the United States in the summer of 2019. A small group of participants in California shared their personal experiences over a period of 36 months.

The wireless technology allows the BMW 530e to be fully charged in roughly three and a half hours. This is possible with the 3.2 kW charging power that enables the high-voltage batteries in the hybrid car to restore energy quicker and without the use of a wired connection.

Simply put, “It’s a deserving winner of 2020 Green Car Technology of the Year,” said Cogan.