Completed Clean Energy Engineering

Wireless Charging of Electric Taxis demonstrator WiCET

Funder InnovateUK (part of UKRI)
Recipient organisation Cenex - Centre of Excellence for Low Carbon and Fuel Cell Technologies Source-published name: Cenex (centre of Excellence for Low Carbon and Fuel Cell Technologies)
Funding £3.4M
Period May 2020 — Mar 2023

In plain English

AI plain-English summary

London taxi drivers will soon be able to charge their electric cabs without plugging in, simply by parking over a pad embedded in the road. The WiCET project tackles a practical barrier to electrifying taxi fleets: the need to stop for long recharges during a shift. Hackney Carriages in cities like London run high-mileage duty cycles with limited downtime. Wireless charging pads installed at taxi ranks can deliver frequent, short boosts of power while drivers wait for passengers, keeping batteries topped up without interrupting work. This reduces the need for large, expensive batteries or backup fossil-fuel engines, making zero-emission taxi operations more cost-effective. If the demonstrator succeeds in Nottingham—where nine taxis will charge wirelessly—and proves commercially viable for a city like London, the technology could reshape urban transport infrastructure. Taxi ranks would become charging points, not just waiting areas. The project also develops a vehicle-side retrofit system and a ground-side billing system, so drivers pay only for the electricity they use. By working directly with drivers to understand their attitudes, the project clarifies the route to market for both retrofitted and factory-installed wireless charging. The result could be quieter, cleaner city streets without forcing drivers to change their working patterns.

View original technical description
The purpose of the WiCET project is to demonstrate the commercial and technical viability of wireless charging for electric Hackney Carriages in medium and large cities. Given the typical duty cycles of taxis and the required recharging times during a shift, wireless charging is considered to be an enabling technology that will support the introduction of electrified taxi operations. The installation of wireless chargers at taxi ranks for frequent charging boosts, offers the opportunity for maximising vehicle range and minimising recharging times. Wireless charging can thus help reduce the need for expensive, large batteries or to use range extender fossil fuel engines thus delivering cost effective zero emission operations. This demonstrator will prove both the technical viability in Nottingham with 9 taxis charging wirelessly and the commercial viability for a large city such as London. The project will develop a vehicle interface to enable commercially available vehicle side wireless charging systems to be either retrofitted on to an electric vehicle or fitted by an OEM as an optional extra. A ground side vehicle identification and billing system will be developed to ensure that drivers are correctly charged for the electricity used. We will also work with taxi drivers to better understand their behaviours and attitudes to electric vehicles as well as rapid and wireless charging. This project brings together all aspects of the wireless charging value chain and will clarify the route to market for both a retrofit and "factory option" product.

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Related Research

Grants with similar aims, by meaning.

Wireless Charging for Electric Taxis - WiCET
Wireless Semi-Dynamic Charging for Electric Taxis (WS-CET)
Wireless Charging Infrastructure for Milton Keynes
Efficient Wireless Stationary Bidirectional Charging Solutions for Light-Duty Vehicles
Feasibility study of Wireless charging equipment in existing electric vehicle service fleets to monitor productivity for commercial manufacture.

Original classification

Collaborative R&D

Plain English summaries and category classifications on this site are generated by AI and may not perfectly reflect the original research.