Column: The Crux with Inductive Charging

Until just ten years ago, a magnetic levitation train test facility was in operation in northwestern Germany. It was subsidized with nearly one billion euros of federal funds over more than thirty years. Essentially, to reinvent the wheel. It was all for naught, as the additional benefits compared to conventional railways are vastly outweighed by the significantly higher costs.

You guessed it: This column is another episode from my personal favorite series: "How to Pointlessly Overcomplicate Simple Things."

While we haven't yet burned through a billion euros – though perhaps we've wasted nearly as many words on it – the topic of "inductive charging" follows a similar pattern. The parallels between the two technologies are striking: What initially seems incredibly practical and efficient, upon closer inspection, is simply ridiculously overcomplicated.

First of all, one must keep in mind that most drivers have difficulty accurately parking in their spaces. How, then, are they supposed to park precisely over a small charging plate? Additionally, the charging coil would need to be mounted in exactly the same location on every vehicle model. Practically speaking, this can only be done in the underbody of the car, where the vehicle battery is located. However, the induction loop protrudes by at least three centimeters. To prevent it from being torn off on every bump in the road, the car would need to be raised by the width of two fingers. This is amusing, as engineers battle for every single millimeter of lowering for better driving dynamics.

It gets interesting with the charging plate. It would need to be hoisted up to the car to ensure a reasonably narrow charging gap. Because firstly, otherwise the energy loss is enormous and secondly, ask your cat about the degree of doneness after it has walked through the gap. And please don't forget to clear away pacemaker patients before departure, who already have problems with an ordinary induction stove. Not to mention the complicated required shear mechanics, which get entangled with leaves and branches, while also needing to install a meteor water drain and an ice defrost system in the ground recess.