DutchNews, November 8,
2016
Rotterdam is working towards
green transport with no strings attached – the municipality has begun a trial
to recharge electric cars wirelessly, reports the AD on Tuesday.
Three city
companies are beginning a trial after two years of preparatory work, using
specially converted vehicles.
‘This could be an ideal way to recharge
batteries, especially at taxi ranks and bus stops,’ Hans Boot, of Engie
Services Nederland told the AD.
The charging system works using an induction
plate and coil, which transmits electricity to a car battery sitting above the
plate, and is activated with a smartphone or tablet app. Boot said he expects that
in future cars would even be able to be recharged on roads equipped with the
technology.
Rotterdam is determined to reduce its carbon emissions, and this
trial is part of the effort. Pex Langenberg, head of sustainability, said: ‘We
already have a lot of charging points but perhaps in future, we can install
some of these plates to make charging as easy as possible. Compare it with an
electric toothbrush. You put it down, and it charges up.’
At the end of
September, Rotterdam celebrated opening its 2000th charging point, and it is
aiming to have 3,600 by the end of 2018.
Subsidies
But on Sunday evening,
organisations including the motoring organisation ANWB, environmental group
Natuur & Milieu, technical universities and electric car industry firms, warned
that electric car use could splutter to a standstill when subsidies are
withdrawn. In October, environment minister Henk Kamp said he was not convinced
about the effectiveness of subsidies for buying electric cars in a letter to
MPs.
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