Volvo is joining the EV revolution by offering wireless electric vehicle charging in Sweden for the next three years. A group of taxis will use the Volvo XC40 Recharge SUV to test the project.

This wireless electric vehicle charging experiment will use the Volvo XC40 Recharge

A fleet of fully electric Volvo XC40 Recharge vehicles will utilize the new wireless charging throughout Gothenburg, Sweden. The area has something called the Gothenburg Green City Zone. Volvo says in the press release that the Gothenburg Green City Zone has “designated areas within the city are used as live testbeds for the development of sustainable technologies.”

“Gothenburg Green City Zone lets us try exciting new technologies in a real environment and evaluate them over time for a potential future broader introduction.”

Mats Moberg | Head of Research and Development at Volvo Cars

Cabonline is the biggest taxi service company in the Nordic region, so Volvo decided to create a partnership. Volvo calls these projects a “strategic initiative” and this is just one of many.

Volvo is teaming up with Cabonline taxis to test the wireless electric vehicle charging

Mats Moberg went on to say that utilizing the Cabonline taxi service is a great way to continue developing these technologies. It benefits Volvo from testing out alternate electric vehicle charging technology while the taxi service gets a zero-emissions boost.

Momentum Dynamics will be the provider of these wireless electric vehicle charging systems. The Volvo XC40 Recharge will automatically charge when the vehicle parks over the parking area. The parking area will consist of a charging pad embedded within the street. It works as it sounds; drivers can drive over the area and conveniently charge the EV wirelessly.

A receiver unit within the car picks up the energy from the charging pad. The wireless electric vehicle charging in the XC40 Recharge will be more than 40 kW. That’s almost four times faster than the wired 11 kW AC charger. A comparable charging experience would be a wired 50 kW DC Fast-Charger, which is quite fast. That means taxi drivers won’t have to wait too long to pick up another ride.

This will be the first durability test of a Volvo EV

These XC40 Recharge taxis will be used around 12 hours a day and drive more than 60,000 miles a year. Volvo says that is the “first durability test of fully electric Volvo cars in a commercial usage scenario.” The automaker was a big proponent of the Gothenburg Green City Zone initiative, so this continuation of a project makes sense. The area hopes to have all zero-emissions transport options by 2030.

This wireless electric vehicle charging project is slated to last three years. Other partners include Volvo Bil, Volvo Car Sörred, Vattenfall, and its charging network company called InCharge. Göteborg Energi, the city energy company, and Business Region Gothenburg are also involved. If the wireless charging proves to impact the taxi service and the environment positively, there will likely be more locations available in the future.

The Volvo XC40 Recharge gets 250 kWh of complimentary charging from Electrify America in the U.S. right now, just in case you wanted to investigate further.