August 2021
Leading The Charge Top Innovators in the drive to solve EV range anxiety
It is becoming clear that the future of the car is electric. From humble beginnings in the early 2000s, electric cars are now driving faster and further towards market dominance by promising superior performance to the enthusiast, and a more sustainable commute to an increasingly environmentally aware society. Yet despite an almost continuous flow of media articles announcing new models and promises to phase out all new petrol vehicles, less than 1% of all cars on the road are purely electric. It must be asked then, in a world fully embracing technology in other aspects of life, why has it taken more than two decades to reach just a 1% market share?
The answer lies in infrastructure. Crucially, there are two huge questions in the mind of anyone considering the switch: What happens if I run out of battery? How long is it going to take to charge? For the average driver, the reliability of a five-minute visit to one of many local filling stations in return for a 500-mile range wins out over a hunt for a plug and a couple of hundred miles of sensible battery conscious driving. This balance however is shifting. In the UK for example, the number of publicly available charging stations increased by 220% between 2016 – 2020. Vehicle charging stations were historically labelled as either ‘Fast’ or ‘Slow’. We can now add ‘Rapid’ and ‘Ultra-rapid’ to the list, and technology is in development to enable ‘Continuous’ charging technology, which could spell the end of so-called range anxiety altogether.
In this article we explore the pace and scale of innovation and put patent a lens on the key players breaking new ground in this field. We then take a detailed look at the company leading progress in induction charging, WiTricity. The focus technologies are:
● Alternating Current (AC) Charging: The traditional charger, this technology requires vehicles to make use of an onboard rectifier to convert the AC into DC for storage. An AC charging station typically runs at a relatively low output of around 6kiloWatts. This readily available technology works well on driveways or office car parks but is limited as you can expect a full charge to take several hours, making it impractical for ‘on the road’ usage.
● Direct Current (DC) Charging: The technology found in faster charging stations, which allow for DC-DC charging without in vehicle conversion. A DC charging station delivers a higher output of around 50kiloWatts but can be substantially higher. This method delivers a high output of power directly into the battery and can deliver up to an 80% charge within 20-30 minutes. This speed makes it perfect for ‘on the road’ use mid-journey, and a viable option for opportunistic charging.
● Induction Charging: A simple yet currently underdeveloped technology, that involves generating an oscillating magnetic field that can deliver charge through a vehicle mounted receiver. Induction charging roll out would see the rise of ‘opportunistic’ charging and could be the answer to ending range anxiety altogether.
1 Tom Rendell Stuart Hall [email protected] [email protected] August 2021 Addressing Range Anxiety – Innovation in Charging Technologies
In recent years within the automotive industry, the spotlight has been on improvements in battery technology. When it comes to easing consumer concerns around range, a continued increase in the energy density and a reduction in the cost of batteries will be crucial. The infrastructure must also keep pace, to provide a variety of fast and reliable charging options.
The majority of the Top 10 Innovators in this field are in the automotive sector, with a small number of exceptions such as Panasonic, which supplies the automotive industry and IHI, which is working closely with WiTricity, the only EV Charging ‘pure play’ on this list. The average age of invention amongst the innovation leaders is 8 years – a reasonably recent technology for sure, but not one that on a first glance is working on the cutting edge of the field. However, when taken in combination with data on the pace of inventions, a recent drive does start to emerge. Starting in 2017, innovation across all focus technologies has experienced noticeable resurgence, with induction charging leading the way both in terms of pace and quantity of inventions.
Mean Age of Inventions: (US & Europe) Pace of Inventions (US & Europe)
Kia Hyundai Witricity Ford Honda BMW Nissan Panasonic IHI Toyota
2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018
Mean Priority Year (First Filing) of Granted Patent Families Source: Cipher, As measured by patent families either granted or pending.
With the oldest average invention, Toyota was one of the earliest adopters of EV Charging technology. A number of organisations entered the AC & DC space in the early to mid-1990’s, however Toyota & Honda were true pioneers in the induction charging space, with the first inventions described in 1992, over a decade before any of the other current top players were innovating in this area.
Of the Top 10 Innovators, Kia & Hyundai own the newest portfolio of inventions in this area, explained by the recent surge of innovation by these companies. They also both have a significant number of inventions in the pipeline, with 63% and 42% (respectively) of their invention portfolio still pending. A strong show, but it should be mentioned that the recent drive does not necessarily translate to the best inventions. Kia and Hyundai sit at the bottom of the list when measured against a metric indicative of invention quality. In contrast Toyota, one of the longest standing organisations in this group, ranks within the top 5 for invention quality.
Clearly, there is innovation taking place. Data aside, the number of charging points is visibly increasing, and at an accelerating pace. The ‘Fast Charge’ network (DC) is continuing to expand, whilst the AC ‘Slow Charge’ network continues to benefit homeowners and office workers who can afford the time to plug in and leave their car. Induction technology is only currently available in various small-scale trials. However, with those inventions making up the bulk of investment, this technology is one to watch as the infrastructure continues to develop.
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August 2021 Oscillating Magnets and Wireless Cars: Is this the future of charging?
Stopping to refuel has been a mainstay of the driving experience for decades. It is no stretch to assume that when the electric revolution comes, we will simply switch out pumps for cables and hope that the charge times start to decrease as the technology matures. Induction charging technology has the potential to break this cycle and promises wide ranging solutions – from charging pads at traffic lights to electrified highways that charge whilst you drive.
Pace of Invention: CAGR 2016-2019, Induction Charging Percent Inventions Granted: Induction Charging
Kia Witricity Daimler IHI Audi Nissan BMW Toyota Nissan Panasonic Hyundai Hyundai Toyota Audi Panasonic Kia
Witricity BMW IHI Daimler
-40% -20% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Percent of Active Patent Families that are Granted CAGR: Patent Families Published (2016 - 2019) Source: Cipher
For a technology that is dominating the innovation landscape, induction charging is currently relatively low profile from a consumer’s perspective, with only a few projects up and running. As shown on the CAGR graph above, the top contenders in this technology are well established automotive companies, and all except Toyota are growing their portfolios in this space.
Kia invested heavily in the run up to 2019, before unveiling the concepts for a joint venture project with Hyundai. Called the Automated Valet Parking System (AVPS), with a commercial released scheduled for 2025, this futuristic concept will combine wireless charging with autonomous driving – by allowing a parked car to cruise to a vacant wireless charging space when available, and then automatically relocate to a standard bay once complete to make way for another vehicle.
Daimler and BMW are the innovators with the most pipelined inventions and have joined forces to reach agreement on standardised induction technology, paving the way for universal charging pads that will increase the appeal of their growing electric fleet. Using a birds-eye-view camera system integrated into the already commonplace parking cameras, drivers will simply have to park over a ground pad and turn off the engine for charging to automatically begin.
These charging pads could mark the start of a transition with far more ambitious aims. Dynamic charging is a technology still in the developmental phase, but it perhaps offers the best glimpse of what lies ahead for induction innovation. The process involves installing subterranean pads a few centimetres beneath the road that will wirelessly transmit electricity to receivers installed underneath the vehicle. Once installed, a driver running low on charge would simply have to pull into the designated charging lane to top up their battery on the move – a convenience impossible with the traditional fossil-fuel powered car.
Successful trials are ongoing, but currently the technology is prohibitively expensive. To be commercially viable, businesses need to figure out how to monetise the service whilst simultaneously bringing down the
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August 2021 estimated cost of $2.5 million per kilometre of electrified highway. The jury is out amongst experts on how the economics will play out, but it is certainly a technology with potential to change the way we charge.
On the radar: WiTricity, driving forward induction innovation.
Search for ‘Induction Car Charging’, and press releases from internationally recognised automotive manufacturers dominate the results. However, when you look closer into the technology boasted by the likes of BMW, you can trace a significant proportion of induction charging innovations back to licences bought from one company: WiTricity. Number of Innovations: (US & Europe) Number of Inventions (US & Europe)
No of Granted & Pending Patent Families 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 Toyota BYD Hyundai Daimler BMW Witricity Kia Motors Audi Bosch Panasonic Korea Science & Technology Continental BAIC Nissan Ford Porsche South China University NIO Honda Renault
Source: Cipher
Across the US & Europe, WiTricity ranks 6th when looking at innovators across all three technologies. This is an achievement by itself, when you consider the overwhelming majority of their portfolio lies in just one technology area, whilst the rest of the list is spread across three. What makes this ranking even more impressive, is that WiTricity has an estimated annual revenue of just $21.1 million per year. BMW, the company that takes the 5th position in this region, reported global revenues of $98.9 billion.
With this portfolio, WiTricity owns several of the underpinning technologies that will enable induction charging to become ubiquitous. Their technology is licenced by key suppliers to the automotive industry and is already installed on some impressive cars – the McLaren Speedtail Hyper-GT to name one. Through their partnership with IHI Corporation, WiTricity plans to supply wireless charging solutions for both automotive and industrial customers globally, and IHI have promised collaboration with the aim of accelerating this rollout.
Having recently secured an additional $52 million in funding, WiTricity is a company to watch. Their technology is already being deployed worldwide in cars, busses, bikes and robots and they envision a dynamic charging solution in the not-too-distant future. With investment from some of the largest automotive companies in the world, there is no doubt their technology will soon see the company become a household name.
For reference & attached: Innovation Lens Snapshots
● Technology Screening: AC Charging, DC Charging, Induction Charging ● Company Screening: Induction Charging ● Company Snapshot: WiTricity
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Innovation Lens: July 2021 Dataset
Technology Screening: Electric Vehicle Charging Technology
Technology Areas: AC Charging DC Charging Induction Charging
Geographies Protected: By Country across all 4 Tech Areas Geographies Protected: By Key Region / Countries
23% Europe Japan
8% 21% USA
Korea Induc on charging
AC charging
Europe DC charging
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25%
Powered by Bing Patent Families with Grants by IP5 Region as a Percent of the Total Granted Families © Australian Bureau of Statistics, GeoNames, Microsoft, Navinfo, TomTom, Wikipedia Patent Families with Grants by Country as a Percent of the Total Granted Families
Number of Inventions: US & Europe Companies: Top ranked by Inventions owned, US & Europe
Induction Charging
AC Charging
DC Charging Granted Pending
- 500 1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500 No. of Patent Families with grants / applications in the US / Europe Top Owners of Patent Families with grants / applications in the US / Europe
Pace of Invention: Trendlines, US & Europe Pace of Invention: CAGR 2016-2019, US & Europe
350
300 DC Charging 250 Induc on Charging 200 Induc on Charging 150 AC Charging
DC Charging 100 AC Charging No of Patent Families Published Families Patent of No 50
0 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% CAGR: Patent Families Published (2016 - 2019 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 Innovation Lens: July 2021 Dataset
Company Screening: Induction Charging
Technology Area: Induction Charging Region: Global granted/pending patent families (inventions) (NB. State Grid of China has been omitted)
Companies: No of Inventions Owned, Induction Charging Pace of Invention: CAGR 2016-2019, Induction Charging
No of Granted & Pending Patent Families - 50 100 150 200 250 Kia Toyota Daimler Hyundai Witricity Audi Korea Science & Tech. BMW BMW Panasonic Daimler Nissan Kia South China University Hyundai BYD Company ZTE New Energy Toyota IHI Panasonic Nissan Audi Witricity Con nental Ford IHI Bombardier Harbin Ins tute Honda -40% -20% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% Denso Bosch CAGR: Patent Families Published (2016 - 2019) SEW Eurodrive NIO Porsche LG Chem BAIC Quality of Invention: Induction Charging Technology Southeast University Toyota China Science Academy Beijing Invispower Hyundai Xiamen Science Witricity Renault Panasonic Nissan Volkswagen Fuji Film Zhejiang Geely Daimler Chongqing University Murata Manufacturing Tsinghua University Toyota Yazaki Corp Samsung Electronics Chery Automo ve IHI Wuhan University TDK Corp CRRC Corpora on BMW Middle Favour Wireless Bosch Siemens AG Automo ve Panasonic Guangdong Power Kia Motors Zhenzhou Sanjun Energy Electronics, Compu ng & Appliances Audi Beijing New-Energy Kia 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% Zhejiang University Wireless Technology Jilin Univ Hyundai CAGR: Patent Families Published (2015 - 2020) TDK Corpora on Sumitomo Electric Industrial / Engineering Samsung Electronics - 20 40 60 80 100 University / Research Ins tute Patent Families Quality Score as measured by Mean PVIX (0 - 100)
Invention Pipeline: Induction Charging Technology Invention Age: Induction Charging Technology (First Filing Date)
Daimler Kia BMW Hyundai Kia Witricity Audi IHI Hyundai BMW Panasonic Audi Toyota Toyota Nissan Panasonic IHI Nissan Witricity Daimler
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Percent of Active Patent Families that are Pending Mean Priority Year (First Filing) of Granted Patent Families Innovation Lens: July 2021 Dataset
Company Snapshot: WiTricity – Induction Charging
Technology Areas: AC Charging DC Charging Induction Charging Region: Global all granted/pending patent families (inventions)
Number of Inventions: WiTricity Companies: Number of Inventions Owned
No of Granted & Pending Patent Families 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 Toyota Induc on charging BYD Hyundai Daimler BMW Witricity Kia Motors DC charging Audi Bosch Panasonic Korea Science & Technology Continental BAIC AC charging Nissan Granted Pending Ford Porsche South China University - 20 40 60 80 100 120 NIO Honda No. of Patent Families Renault
Pace of Invention: WiTricity Quality of the Inventions: WiTricity
25 Induc on Charging 25 Mean PVIX = 65.6 20 20
15 15
10 10
Number of Patent Families of Number Patent 5
Families Patent Ac ve of No 5 -
0 - 5 5 - 10 10 - 1515 - 2020 - 2525 - 3030 - 3535 - 4040 - 4545 - 5050 - 5555 - 6060 - 6565 - 7070 - 7575 - 8080 - 8585 - 9090 - 95 0 DC Charging 95 - 100 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 Quality Score as measured by PVIX (0 - 100)
Geographies Protected: WiTricity Invention Age: WiTricity (Expiry Date)
30 Mean Expiry Year: 2035 25 58% 21% 62% 10% 20 (Combined Europe) 15
10
Families No of Patent 5
0 2021 2023 2025 2027 2029 2031 2033 2035 2037 2039 Powered by Bing Patent Families with Grants by Country as ©a Australian Percent Bureau ofof Statistics, the GeoNames, Total Microsoft, Granted Navinfo, FamiliesTomTom, Wikipedia Anticipated Expiry Date of Granted Patent Families