The Problem of Electric Vehicle Charging: State-of-the-Art and an Innovative Solution

This paper presents a comprehensive literature review with focus on the difficulties electric vehicles (EVs) face to charge the battery while on a trip, and proposes a solution without the need of an expensive change in infrastructure. The proposed method charges EVs while en route from another vehicle, which will be referred to as vehicle-to-vehicle recharging (VVR). The aim of this system is to bring an innovative way for EVs to charge their battery without getting off route on a highway. The electric vehicle can request such a service from a designated charger vehicle on demand and receive electric power wirelessly while en route. The vehicles that provide energy (charger vehicles) through wireless power transfer (WPT) only need to be semi-autonomous in order to engage/disengage during a trip. The state-of-the-art is divided into three subsections relevant to the proposed system and where most of the innovations to reduce the burden of charging EVs can be found: (1) infrastructure changes, (2) device level innovations, and (3) autonomous vehicles. The infrastructure changes highlight some of the proposed systems that aim to help EVs become a convenient solution to the public. Device level innovations covers some of the literature on technology that addresses EVs in terms of WPT. And finally, the autonomous vehicle subsection covers the importance of such technology in terms of safety and reliability, that could be implemented on the VVR system. Furthermore, modeling, analysis, and simulation is presented to validate the feasibility of the proposed system.