Inductive Power Transfer

TLDR

Inductive power transfer (IPT) has evolved from a niche curiosity to a $1 billion industry, now powering diverse, increasingly challenging applications such as static and dynamic electric‑vehicle charging, though significant technical hurdles remain. The study investigates IPT’s historical development and engineering principles to evaluate its future industrial and automotive potential. The authors review IPT’s engineering foundations and industrial trajectory, tracing its application from factory automation to a $1 billion market. The authors suggest that IPT systems ten times more powerful, misalignment‑tolerant, safer, and efficient could be realized, potentially transforming society.

Abstract

Inductive power transfer (IPT) was an engineering curiosity less than 30 years ago, but, at that time, it has grown to be an important technology in a variety of applications. The paper looks at the background to IPT and how its development was based on sound engineering principles leading on to factory automation and growing to a $1 billion industry in the process. Since then applications for the technology have diversified and at the same time become more technically challenging, especially for the static and dynamic charging of electric vehicles (EVs), where IPT offers possibilities that no other technology can match. Here, systems that are ten times more powerful, more tolerant of misalignment, safer, and more efficient may be achievable, and if they are, IPT can transform our society. The challenges are significant but the technology is promising.