EVS: Gothenburg Wireless Charging project expands with new station

Time for EV industry to step up

Yet Herren cautioned that the industry would still face challenges, such as those from global turbulence and tariffs in the US, which risk destabilising the value chains that the industry is working on. Furthermore, he warned that potential EV buyers need clarity and reassurance in a world of increasing misinformation and disinformation about electric vehicles. The EV industry, he stated, stands at a crossroads.

“We’re all standing here today, in 2025, in a world that’s in equal parts inspiring and challenging at the same time. We’re also standing here with a choice to make about whether we let ourselves be overwhelmed by those challenges, or if we step up together to seize the opportunities. We have to step up, not step back. Stepping up is exactly what the younger generations expect of us.

Innovations have promised to remove any remaining doubts that electric vehicles are the technology of choice to carry us through the next decade and beyond

“To be successful, the mass electrification of our transport system has to deliver, not only for the climate and the environment, but for the socio-economic side too. For jobs, security and wider prosperity. Not just concentrated in certain parts of the world, but spread out equally across all regions. We’re also at a crossroads that could legitimately see us step up or step back by the end of next year.”

While he felt that electric vehicles are becoming progressively more mainstream, Herren said a gap was widening between development in Asia and Europe, in particular in key areas such as battery technology and production. He said the next 12 months would be critical to making sure that the industry’s wider ambitions remain in place.

“If stepping up means more than anything, it’s the shared responsibility. That means our vehicle manufacturers continuing to step up in their delivery of affordable, sustainable vehicles ready to compete across the globe. It means our batteries charging and technology companies stepping up to create the surrounding ecosystem for these vehicles to thrive in,” he concluded.  

“But it also means our politicians stepping up much more than today at both EU and national level to create the strong policy foundations for all of these ecosystems to compete and grow. And here, we need not just action plans, but real, tangible actions and conviction… It’s only by staying the course and stepping up that we can make sure we do deliver all of the values of electric vehicles here in Europe.”

How Gothenburg is stepping up

Such political, technological and industrial buy-in can be found in Gothenburg, where the development of EVs is a crucial part of the future wider societal plans for the local authorities. Among a plethora of high-tech firms, the second city of Sweden is home to global automotive giant Volvo and is committed to electrification at all levels.

The Wireless Charging project is part of the Gothenburg Green City Zone initiative, both coordinated by Business Region Göteborg. In the initiative, ecosystem partners – comprising the City of Gothenburg, Business Region Göteborg, Volvo Cars and RISE Research Institutes of Sweden – test new technologies and collaborate to develop and scale up systems aimed at ensuring 100% emission-free traffic by 2030.

“Gothenburg is not just a city – it’s a hotspot for innovation and a frontrunner in sustainability,” said Patrik Andersson, CEO of Business Region Göteborg. “We have found wireless charging to be attractive for taxi fleets and other transporters at key locations within the city, with great potential to support our city’s climate targets of lowering emissions from the traffic system. We are happy to foster further collaboration, and glad that a majority of the project’s drivers are keen to continue using this innovative solution.”

We have found wireless charging to be attractive for taxi fleets and other transporters at key locations within the city, with great potential to support our city’s climate targets of lowering emissions from the traffic system

Jonas Eriksson, group manager for clusters and innovation at Gothenburg Green City Zone, told Computer Weekly that the background to the initiative was to resolve ongoing problems with the transport system, and the associated congestion and hence emissions that it creates.

“We have a clear climate framework setting the goal for net zero by 2030, but we also want to be a frontrunner in how to do that. We try to look at how we are going to scale the transport system. There are a number of projects focused on different parts of this electrification journey,” said Eriksson.

“We see ourselves as a collaborative innovation hub where we get actors close to each other, both in doing testing, but also in analysing the business models of today and [asking how to] change those to make sure that we are scaling the innovations that we are implementing. We are trying to do real-world testing. We are doing a number of tests in emission-free events. How do you set up events to be emission-free? How do you make sure that deliveries to events are being made efficiently?”

The tests in inductive charging are being carried out in real-life environments, encompassing not just charging cars, but also potentially buses and other vehicles, as well as general electric distribution in the city.

“We have been helping [all] actors analyse how to go about charging at their depot and making the routes most efficient for electrified transport of goods. Having regional freight hubs is not only about electrification. We also need to be making more efficient distribution hubs around the city where we can consolidate [resources]. In the first test, they managed to change 125 deliveries down to 28. There are possibilities to make real efficiency measures.”

Key findings from the wireless charging project to date include 10,000 charging events with 100% uptime; 140MWh of energy transferred; five million kilometres travelled by the cars in the test, equivalent to 100 laps around the world; drivers finding the technology convenient and easy to use with complete hands-free operation; inductive charging preferred by the drivers, especially at major travel centres (train stations, airports, hotels) and city destinations (healthcare facilities, amusement and visitors’ areas, business districts and fair areas); and “flawless” energy delivery in rainy, snowy, hot, cold, dirty and icy conditions.

Charging ahead with power services

The wireless charging stations are about to be permanent, with the addition of a third charging station powering the electric Volvo XC40 vehicles – two at a time, up to 75kW each – outside the Gothia Towers hotel adjacent to the city’s World Trade Centre. InductEV, which pioneered the technology, will take over the operations of the City of Gothenburg’s three wireless charging stations as its first “charge-as-a-service” offering.

This is a model for how cities and technology providers can collaborate to accelerate decarbonisation without compromising on performance, convenience or ambition

InductEV’s wireless charging technology is designed to eliminate the need for physical connectors and cables, reducing maintenance costs, improving reliability and enabling opportunity charging throughout transit routes or at depot locations. The company claims “unlimited range” with an “unbreakable solution” with no moving parts. In this case, no apps, tags or credit cards are needed for payment.

Talking to Computer Weekly about the project, James Wroe, managing director for the EMEA region at InductEV, said the work to date had proven that wireless high-power charging was not only possible in a complex urban environment, but that it works reliably and at scale, even coping with the rigours of Swedish weather.

Over the initial three years of the project, all expectations are said to have been exceeded, and the number of charging stations in the project will now expand.

“We are pleased to announce two significant developments. First, the launch of this new wireless charging station, extending our footprint within the Green City zone and providing a centrally located, high-traffic location where the cab online fleet can charge seamlessly without cables, contact points or delays. And second, I’m proud to share that InductEV will now take over operation of all three wireless charging locations within the city of Gothenburg, marking the start of our first charge-as-a-service operation anywhere in the world,” said Wroe.

“From this point forward, InductEV will not only provide the hardware, but also manage and operate the service, ensuring optimal uptime and performance for every vehicle that charges at it. There’s more than infrastructure handover, however – it’s a model for how cities and technology providers can collaborate to accelerate decarbonisation without compromising on performance, convenience or ambition,” he added.

Joachim Hult, chief operating officer, real estate, logistics and production, project management and venue development, at Svenska Mässan Gothia Towers, said the company was pleased to join this innovative project, describing it as a hands-on example of how sustainable development moves forward when local and international partners work together.

“Through our role in the Gothenburg Green City Zone, we want to contribute to more sustainable transport in the city. Making space for this new wireless charging station and powering it with renewable electricity is a natural fit with that ambition,” said Hult.