Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 47 (2015) 462–475

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Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/rser

Inductively coupled power transfer (ICPT) for electric vehicle charging

– A review
Kafeel Ahmed Kalwar, Muhammad Aamir, Saad Mekhilef n
Power Electronics and Renewable Energy Research Laboratory (PEARL), Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, 50603, Malaysia

art ic l e i nf o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The deficiency in the availability of petroleum products has given rise to the incorporation of electric vehicles
Received 26 July 2014 (EVs) globally as a substitute for the conventional transportation system. Significant research has been pursued
Received in revised form over last two decades in the development of efficient EV charging methods. A preliminary review of few
12 January 2015
methods developed for wireless charging revealed that ICPT is a promising and convenient method for the
Accepted 8 March 2015
wireless charging of EVs. This paper includes the equivalent circuit analysis and characteristics of the ICPT
system and focuses on the research progress in respect of the designs for the charging coil, leakage inductance
Keywords: compensation topologies, power level enhancement and misalignment toleration. The improvement in these
Electric vehicle (EV) factors has been essential for the implementation of EV charging. A brief discussion over design process and
Wireless charging of electric vehicle
control of ICPT system has been added. Conclusions have been made on the basis of the information extracted
Inductively coupled power transfer (ICPT)
from the literature and some future recommendations are provided.
& 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Contents

1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 462
2. EV's impact on energy and environment and their advantages and drawbacks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463
3. EV battery charging technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463
3.1. Microwave power transfer (MPT) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 464
3.2. Inductive power transfer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 464
3.3. Inductively coupled power transfer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 464
4. Operating principle for ICPT system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 465
5. Equivalent circuit analysis of ICPT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 466
6. Characteristics of ICPT system. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 467
6.1. Impact of coupling coefficient and frequency on the efficiency of the ICPT system. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 467
6.2. Impact of quality factor (Q) of coils on the efficiency of ICPT system. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 468
7. Development of ICPT system. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 468
7.1. Compensation technologies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 468
7.2. Charging distance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 470
7.3. Power level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 471
7.4. Misalignment toleration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 471
8. Design criteria of ICPT system. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 472
9. Control algorithms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 472
10. Future recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 474
11. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 474
Acknowledgment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 474
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 474

n
Corresponding author. Tel.: +60 379677611.
E-mail address: saad@um.edu.my (S. Mekhilef).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2015.03.040
1364-0321/& 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 K.A. Kalwar et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 47 (2015) 462–475 463

1. Introduction design criteria and control algorithm is presented in Sections 8 and 9

respectively. Few recommendations and a conclusion based on the
Petroleum products, including compressed natural gas and information learnt from the literature are provided in Sections 10
liquefied petroleum gas, have remained the main resources of the and 11.
energy demand–supply cycle for transportation [1]. The gradual
increase in energy demand has created a scarcity of these naturally
available resources. Moreover, carbon dioxide emission contributing
2. EV's impact on energy and environment and their
global warming and high fuel prices have compelled scientists and
advantages and drawbacks
researchers to find a sustainable alternate solution to these deplet-
ing natural energy reserves [2–4]. Substantial research and devel-
Transportation causes the consumption of 27% world petrola-
opment resources are being devoted towards alternate energy
tum energy and 33.7% of greenhouse gas emissions in 2012 [1,8].
technologies [5–7].
To reduce the CO2 emissions, legislation is being introduced in
The incorporation of electric vehicles (EVs) has been considered to
some countries to limit the emissions from cars and other means.
be a suitable replacement for the depleting petroleum resources used
Substantial use of natural resources has created a scarcity thereof,
for automotive applications [8,9]. The concept of EV was developed
and, in future, the world may face the impact of the dependence
with the advent of the Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV), which later led to
on these depleting natural energy resources.
the introduction of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). But the
Electricity has proven to be a viable alternative transportation
PHEV exhibited several disadvantages such as such the need of
fuel to replace petroleum products, so the electric vehicle has
connecting cable and plug in charger, galvanic isolation of on-board
paved the path for reducing the dependence on petroleum energy.
electronics, the size and weight of the charger, and more importantly
The EVs are solely operated by electric power and generates zero
safety issues concerning their operation in the rain and snow [10]. In
emissions of greenhouse gases. This creates substantial changes to
order to incorporate the aforementioned disadvantages in PHEV, pure
reduce the air pollution, thus making the populated surroundings
EV has been developed [11,12]. Electric vehicles (EV) enable smoke free
cleaner and gratifying for all livings around. The noise of conven-
transportation, and offer an effective solution to the adverse environ-
tional internal combustion engines is avoided through adoption of
mental impacts of the conventional transportation system [13], and are
EV and the metropolises becomes noiseless [23].
powered over a large air gap through wireless charging even in bad
With the development of wireless charging of EVs, the users do
weather and harsh environmental conditions without utilizing plugs or
not need any wires to charge them safely. With automatic
wires [14]. However the EVs are operated by means of electrical energy,
charging, the users simply need to park the EV over the plug-
so these are polluting the environment indirectly depending on the
less charging pad. Through the development in technology, the
source of energy. They operate with low emissions of greenhouse gases
dynamic charging of electric vehicles has been introduced, which
[15]. Furthermore, they can be used with smart house systems to
enables the charging of moving vehicles on the roadway. Regular
supplement the energy storage through bidirectional energy transfer
stops on the roadway offer charging points to avoid disrupting the
[16]. Although EV is a possible substitute for depleting energy reserves
timetable of users. The charging system can operate reliably even
and to overcome the environmental issues, the limited mileage and
in the most adverse weather conditions of snow and rain.
time needed to recharge, less misalignment toleration and overall cost
Particularly, the electric vehicles can be connected to the smart
involved are still limitations. These issues require special consideration
grid of the future. The batteries of EVs have the potential to benefit
for the successful implementation of an electrically driven vehicle
both consumers and the overall electrical grid [24] and by feeding
system worldwide. The quest for a solution to the aforesaid issues has
electricity back to the grid during peak demand it helps to keep
led researchers to develop the most useful method of wireless charging
the overall electricity cost stable. In addition, the charged vehicle
of EVs. Several methods have been pursued to charge both stationary
could also potentially serve as an emergency supply for home or
and moving electric vehicles [17,18]. Static charging of EVs is con-
business in case of power outage.
venient for the users to utilize at home or office parking [19], while
There is risk of safety during accidents in case of human or
dynamic charging allows powering the moving EVs. Though the static
animal presence under the car or bus. Thus, there is a major
charging of EVs has the advantage of low cost compared to dynamic
concern of electromagnetic field exposure in wireless charging of
charging, but these require heavy size batteries so to store more charge
electric vehicles. The EMI exposure has to be under limited range
[10], while the dynamic charging makes use of several charging coils
as prescribed safety regulatory authorities during normal as well
paved in the roadbed at a spaced distance which allows more vehicles
as abnormal operation.
to get charged simultaneously [20]. Thus the dynamic charging has the
The main drawback of EV is requirement of a battery of high
main advantage of avoiding the need for a high capacity battery and
energy density. It corresponds to frequent mileage of electric
reduces the battery cost. Inductively coupled power transfer (ICPT) has
vehicle. More the mileage, larger the battery pack will be used.
been most successful in consideration for the wireless charging of EV.
Lead acid battery is mostly used, which is very expensive.
Due to reasonable electrical isolation between transmitting coil and
Escalating demand of EVs will result in the deficit of energy
receiving coil, the ICPT system has ability to operate in grimy condi-
gradually introducing load management issues in grids.
tions. It is highly reliable and requires less maintenance. Extensive
The provoked concern of environment pollution and energy issues
research over the span of time, in different technical aspects, has
will rapidly ensure the feasibility of EVs for common commercializa-
improved the performance of ICPT in terms of charging distance,
tion by manufacturing light weight high energy density batteries,
misalignment toleration, high power and high efficiency [21,22].
technical advancements to overcome misalignment, low efficiency
This paper reviews the methods developed for the wireless
during dynamic behavior of the power transfer system.
charging of electric vehicles and their deployment as well as the
evolution of ICPT performance. It begins with the impact of electric
vehicles on energy and the environment and a brief comparison of
the different EV charging methods in Sections 2 and 3 respectively. 3. EV battery charging technologies
The operational mechanism of the ICPT method is discussed in
Section 4. The equivalent circuit analysis and characteristics of the Different EV battery charging methods have been developed in
ICPT system are provided in Sections 5 and 6. A discussion on the the quest to achieve high efficiency, large power transfer and other
research progress of ICPT is presented in Section 7. The discussion on attributes. The deployed methods have approached the different
464 K.A. Kalwar et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 47 (2015) 462–475

capabilities in terms of power level, air gap and efficiency. These
methods are discussed in this section.
3.1. Microwave power transfer (MPT)
This technology enables the transmission of power and infor-
mation by using radio waves whose wavelength range falls into
the category of microwaves. The operation of MPT involves
components including a microwave generator, transmitting
antenna and receiving antenna (also termed as rectenna). The
block diagram shows the mechanism of MPT. Initially, the power
supplied from the 50 Hz grid is converted into DC, which is fed
into a microwave generator. There are resonating cavities in the
microwave generator through which the current passes and
produces microwave electromagnetic radiation. The rectenna
receives the microwave energy and converts it back to DC. The
received DC is utilized as per the requirements of the application.
Kyoto University has been working on the implementation of the
MPT for the charging of EV for some years. In 2000, Kyoto University
developed a MPT system for EV charging and achieved an efficiency of
76% [25]. A 10 kW rectenna array capable of receiving 3.2 kW/m2 at a
circa distance of 4 m with efficiency of 84% has been developed by the
Volvo Technologies Japan and the Nihon Dengyo Kosaku companies
[26]. Although the MPT has the advantage of transferring power over
longer distances, it has the disadvantage of increased cost and antenna
size. In addition, high power transmission using microwaves is not
considered safe for humans as it does not comply with the radio wave
regulation for high power. To overcome the disadvantage of the cost
and antenna size, a new technique “Microwave Building” was intro-
duced in [27]. In this technique, a waveguide is used, which provides a
path for microwaves and does not allow the diffusion of microwaves.
Therefore, the size of antenna and cost are reduced to a great extent
and the technique is considered safe. However, to date, low power has
been transferred using this technique.
3.2. Inductive power transfer
The charging of plugin electric vehicles has always a safety risk
of the direct contact of metal-to-metal. To avoid this concern, the
designs of electric vehicle charging systems were developed based
on inductive power transfer (IPT) [28]. The IPT works on electro-
magnetic induction phenomena to transfer power through an air
cored transformer with closely spaced primary and secondary coils
[2,14,29]. The coils seem to be connected physically to each other
but are isolated electrically, as shown in Fig. 1(a). The extended
picture in Fig. 1(b) shows a sealed charging pad. The charger is
inserted into the vehicle like fueling a conventional vehicle. The
schematic diagram of IPT is shown in Fig. 2.
Inductive power transfer has been successfully implemented
for EV battery charging. This method showed promising high
power transfer with a smaller air gap, however, when the air
gap between the primary and secondary coils is increased the
performance decreases drastically due to leakage inductance [29].
3.3. Inductively coupled power transfer
The inductive power transfer offers low efficiency when the air
gap is increased between charging coils and also involves wired
chargers, while the designs for full wireless charging systems have
been developed to overcome the deficiencies of IPT and make the
charging system convenient for the users. The inductively coupled
power transfer (ICPT) employs capacitors connected to both the
primary and secondary coils to compensate the leakage flux due to
the increased air gap, as shown in Fig. 3. Both the LC circuits work on
resonance phenomena to enable effective energy transfer at resonant
frequency [31].
The inductively coupled power transfer (ICPT) method is
known worldwide for its high power transfer in many applica-
tions, mainly in electric vehicles [5,31]. It provides a rapid charging
process, and optimized power transmission by frequency variation

Fig. 1. (a) EV charging through inductive power transfer [30], (b) charging pad [30].

High Frequency
Inductive Link
From Utility
Source

Battery

Charging station Vehicle charging system

Fig. 2. Schematic diagram of Inductive Power Transfer.

 K.A. Kalwar et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 47 (2015) 462–475 465

and control over the loss due to low magnetic coupling. The ICPT Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) to avoid the exposure by humans to
has been used for both stationary and moving electric vehicles the electromagnetic field (EMF).
[21]. If the vehicle being charged is stationary, it is said to be Many authors have termed this technology as the inductively
“charging of the battery electric vehicle (BEV)” or “static charging”, coupled power transfer (ICPT), while Kurs et al. [32], and Karalis
while, if the vehicle is moving, some names given to it are dynamic et al. [33] termed this method as the strong magnetic coupled power
charging and online electric vehicle (OLEV). In the OLEV set-up, transfer. Nevertheless, both of these indicate same characteristics
the primary coil is placed in the pavement at spaced locations, [13,34]. Takanashi et al. [35] split IPT based on the use of the magnetic
thereby establishing a charging roadbed that allows power trans- core and operating frequency into the inductively coupled power
fer at several spaced locations throughout the roadbed. Although it transfer (ICPT ) method [31] and the magnetic resonant power transfer
involves high capital cost for infrastructure installation, its feature method [32,33]. According to [35], the ICPT works on a frequency of
of frequent charging can elude the need for high capacity batteries. less than 200 kHz and employs a ferrite core, while the magnetic
The online electric vehicle (OLEV) uses relatively low resonant resonance power transfer works on a frequency higher than 1 MHz
frequency as the system is installed for the charging of moving and does not utilize a ferrite core.
electric vehicles in an open public area. Therefore, it is necessary to The literature suggests that the ICPT is a comparatively efficient,
maintain safety regulations prescribed by safety regulation orga- optimum and light charging system through which power can be
nizations, such as the International Committee on Electromagnetic transferred from one part to another part of the system with no
Safety (ICES), and the International Commission on Non-ionizing physical contacts, particularly in the electric vehicle application, even
in extreme weather conditions [13]. Inductive power transfer (ICPT)
C1 C2 has been attracting the interest of manufacturers in the last few years
M [36]. Cellular phone charging through ICPT is an application that has
already been commercialized. The common commercialization of this
V1 L1 L2 V2 technology is likely to be unveiled soon and may modernize the
automotive industry.
Fig. 3. ICPT circuit.
The achievements in research of ICPT technology are tabulated
in Table 1:
A comparison of charging methods with respect to the para-
Table 1
ICPT applied projects.
meters including efficiency, frequency, cost, power level and
distance is shown in Table 2.
Manufacturer/institute Power rating Efficiency (%) Air gap (cm) From developed methods of electric vehicle charging, the ICPT
method has enabled the high power transfer.
2007 [32] 60 W 40 200
2011 [37] 1 kW 88 30
2011 [38] 3.3 kW 84–90 10
2011 [39] 60 kW 92 40 4. Operating principle for ICPT system
2012 [40] 3.3 kW 90 18
2012 [26] 30 kW 92 14
In the ICPT system, unlike the transformers in which the primary
2013 [41] 180 kW 85 10
2014 [42] 300–600 kW 83 3 and secondary windings are wound on a magnetic core to avoid the
leakage of inductance, and to produce a good coupling, the windings

Table 2
Comparison of various EV battery charging methods.

Technology Efficiency Frequency Power level Distance Cost

Microwave power transfer Medium 1–30 GHz Low/medium Long High

Inductive power transfer (Uncompensated) High 15–100 kHz High Very low High
Inductive coupled power transfer Medium 20–200 kHz High Medium Medium

Rectifier
M Inverter Cs
Secondary Coil
Battery

Primary Coil
Cp

High Frequency
Inverter

Fig. 4. Components of wireless power transfer for EV charging.

466 K.A. Kalwar et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 47 (2015) 462–475

are not linked through a common magnetic core but separated over a jωM 2 I 1 2
large air gap. The inductively coupled power transfer for the EV P ¼ Su  Q ¼  Q2 ð4Þ
L2
charging system is depicted in Fig. 4, which consists of a utility supply,
high-frequency inverter, primary and secondary resonant circuits and jωM 2 I 1 2 ωL2 ωL2
EV load [22]. The primary coil in Fig. 4 is a charging pad that is fixed in P¼  ; Since Q 2 ¼ ð5Þ
L2 RL RL
the ground. The EV is parked above the charging pad and a high-
frequency AC voltage is applied to the charging pad. The rate of current Therefore, the power transferred at the secondary coil can be
flow creates a time variant magnetic field around the primary coil. calculated using the following equation:
Subsequently, by Ampere's Law and Faraday's law, being in the vicinity
of a variant magnetic field, a voltage is induced at the terminals of the ω2 M 2 I 1 2
P¼ ð6Þ
secondary coil, as shown in Fig. 5 [43]. The electrical load of EV is RL
connected to the secondary coil, which completes the circuit and
where ω is the angular frequency of the transmitting coil, I 1 is the
enables the power transfer.
current through transmitting coil, M is the mutual inductance
As the primary and secondary coils are separated by a large air
between two coils and RL is the load resistance.
gap that results in low mutual inductance and the voltage across
the mutual inductance becomes less [31], which creates a delay
between the current and voltage and thus the reactive power is
produced. To overcome the low power factor due to the reactive 5. Equivalent circuit analysis of ICPT
power [44], capacitance is added to both the primary and
secondary coils to achieve the resonance phenomenon. This Although the inductively coupled power system has many
strengthens the coupling between the loosely coupled coils. The configurations to compensate for the effect of leakage flux, a
schematic diagram of the series–series compensated circuit topol- series–series resonant structure of the ICPT system is selected for
ogy is as shown in Fig. 6. This ensures the high power transfer analysis because of its simplicity and moreover it reduces the
when both the primary and secondary circuits are operated at the parameters that are involved in the optimization of efficiency of
same resonant frequency [20,31]. the ICPT system. An ICPT system with a series resonant capacitor is
The power output of an ICPT system ðP out Þ can be analyzed by shown in Fig. 7. Lp , Ls are the self-inductances of the primary and
using two observations in the ICPT system [46]: secondary side and M is mutual inductance. C p , C s are the cap-
Open-circuit test acitances of the primary and secondary side capacitors. R1 , R2 are
the resistances of the primary and secondary side and RL is the
V OC ¼ jωMI 1 ð1Þ load resistance. Fig. 8 shows the T-type of equivalent circuit of the
ICPT system circuit shown in Fig. 7.
Short-circuit test The coupling coefficient (k), that defines the extent of coupling
of the primary and secondary coil, is given by:
MI 1
I SC ¼ ð2Þ
L2 M
k ¼ pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi ð7Þ
Lp Ls
Then power can be calculated as the product of open circuit test
voltage and short circuit test current:
Cp Cs
MI 1 jωM 2 I 1 2 I1 R1 R2
Su ¼ jωMI 1  ¼ ð3Þ
L2 L2 I2
Vs Lp M Ls VL RL

I Ampere’s Law
Fig. 7. Series–series (SS) resonant ICPT system.
Faraday’s
H Law

Cp R1 Lp-M Ls - M R2
V I1 Cs
I2

M RL
Vs

Fig. 5. Basic concept of inductive power transfer [45]. Fig. 8. Equivalent circuit of ICPT system.

Rectifier High Frequency Inductively Coupled Rectifier Battery

Inverter Power Transfer

Cs1 Mutual Cs2

Induction

AC L 1 Lm L2

Fig. 6. Circuit of inductively coupled power transfer.

 K.A. Kalwar et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 47 (2015) 462–475 467

The total impedance of the equivalent circuit for given para- And, thus, the maximum efficiency can be obtained as:
meters may be calculated as:  2
0 1 2π f r M 2
   ηmax ¼ rffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
 ffi  ð18Þ
1 ω 2 2
M 2  pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi 2
Z SS ¼ R1 þ j Lp ω  þ @   A ð8Þ R1 R2 þ 2π f r M 2 þ ðR1 R2 Þ
Cpω R þ j Ls ω  1 þ R 2 Cs ω L

The current absorbed from the supply is given by:

Vs 6. Characteristics of ICPT system
I1 ¼ ð9Þ
Z SS
6.1. Impact of coupling coefficient and frequency on the efficiency
Vs of the ICPT system
I1 ¼      ð10Þ
R1 þj Lp ω  C p ω þ  ω2 M 
2
1
R2 þ j Ls ω  C 1ω þ RL The coupling coefficient between the primary and secondary
s

can be calculated from Eq. (1). If no coupling exists between the

Now the circuit is operating at a resonant frequency f r and the
primary and secondary, then M ¼ 0; and, thus k ¼ 0. The general
LC components cancel out their reactance and I 1 is given by:
transformers with cores and no air gap have the highest coupling
V coefficient. The coupled coils have k Z 0:5, they are termed as
I1 ¼  s 2 2 ð11Þ
ð2 π f r Þ M tightly coupled and those having k r 0:5 are called loosely coupled.
R1 þ R2 þ RL The value of M and thereby k depends on the physical dimensions
and the number of turns of each coil, their relative position to one
The input power can be calculated as:
another and the magnetic properties of the core on which they are
V 2 wound. There is also a probable decrease in the coupling coeffi-
P IN ¼  s 2 2 ð12Þ
ð2π f r Þ M cient due to misalignment between the transmitting and pick-up
R1 þ R2 þ RL coils in both the static and dynamic charging of EVs. Fig. 9 depicts
the variation of coupling coefficient and mutual inductance as a
Or: function of variable distance.
Eq. (16) can be simplified to determine the dependence of the
V s 2 ðR2 þ RL Þ
P IN ¼  2 ð13Þ efficiency of the ICPT system on the coupling coefficient. The
R1 R2 þ R1 RL þ 2π f r M 2 relationship between the coupling coefficient (k) and power
Likewise, the output power can be obtained as below: 100
 2
V s 2 2π f r M 2 RL 90
P OUT ¼   2 2 ð14Þ k=0.2
R1 R2 þ R1 RL þ 2π f r M 2 80
k=0.4

70 k=0.6
And the efficiency of the system can be represented by the
Efficiency (η)

following equation: 60

P OUT 50
η¼ ð15Þ
P IN 40

Or 30

RL
η¼
20
  2 ð16Þ
RL þR1 ðR2 þ RL Þ= 2π f r M þ R2 10

The maximum load resistance for optimized efficiency can be 0

5000 10000 15000 20000 25000 30000 35000 40000 45000 50000
obtained by:
Frequency (Hz)
sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
 2
2π f r M 2 Fig. 10. Efficiency of ICPT system at various coupling coefficient.
RL ¼ 1 þ ð17Þ
R1 R2
4000
0.25 7.00E-05
3500
Mutual Inductance (Henery)

Coupling Factor 6.00E-05

Coupling Coefficient (k)

0.2
Power Transferred (Watts)

3000 RL=3 Ω
Mutual Inductance 5.00E-05
RL=3.5 Ω
2500
0.15
4.00E-05 RL=4 Ω
2000
3.00E-05 RL=4.5 Ω
0.1
1500
RL=4.5 Ω
2.00E-05
0.05 1000
1.00E-05
500
0 0.00E+00
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 0
Airgap / Distance (Metres) 15000 16000 17000 18000 19000 20000 21000 22000 23000 24000 25000
Frequency (Hz)
Fig. 9. The effect of distance upon coupling coefficient (k) and mutual inductance
(M). Fig. 11. Maximum power transferred at resonant frequencies.
468 K.A. Kalwar et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 47 (2015) 462–475

Table 3 100
Loaded quality factors of ICPT coils.

95
Quality Secondary series Secondary parallel

Maximum Efficiency (η)

factor compensated compensated
90
Q1 Q1 ¼ RL L1
Q1 ¼ ωL1 L2 2
ωM 2 RL M 2
Q2 Q1 ¼ ωL2
Q1 ¼ RL
85
RL ωL2

80
90

80 75
70

60 70
5 25 45 65 85 105
Efficiency (η)

50
kQ
40

30
Fig. 13. The maximum efficiency of ICPT system against kQ [35].

20

10 in [48] and presented by Eq. (21):

0
5000 10000 15000 20000 25000 30000 35000 40000 45000 50000 4Q 2 3
Q1 4 ð21Þ
Frequency (Hz) 4Q 2 2  1
Fig. 12. Efficiency during bifurcation phenomenon. To avoid the bifurcation phenomenon in the series–series (SS)
ICPT system, the quality factor of primary coil should always be
transferred can be represented by Eq. (19): greater than the secondary coil and thus the system will operate
2 2 on a single zero angle frequency.
R k 2π f r L1 L2
η¼  L
2 2  ð19Þ The impact of quality factor on the amount of power trans-
ðRL þ R2 Þ R1 RL þ R1 R2 þk 2π f r L1 L2 ferred and its efficiency can be observed from the following
equations [49]:
Fig. 10 shows that the efficiency varies directly with the
coupling coefficient and frequency. The lower air gaps offer higher M2
P ¼ jωL2 I 1  I 1  Q ð22Þ
efficiency. It is important to select a trade-off between the distance L2 L1 2
and efficiency for high power transfer, keeping in view the 2
necessity of application. P ¼ V 1  I1  k  Q 2 ð23Þ
The power transferred can be determined by Eq. (1). Fig. 11 To determine the maximum efficiency of the ICPT system, an
shows the maximum power transferred for different load resis- equation based on the coupling coefficient and Q factor is devel-
tances at certain bandwidth of optimum resonant frequencies. At oped in [35]:
these frequencies, the LC components cancel out their reactance
1
on both sides of the circuit. The power transfer drops considerably ηmax ¼ ð24Þ
1 þ pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
2
at all other frequencies except the range of bandwidth. k Q 1Q 2

pFig. 13 shows the results plotted between ηmax and kQ ¼

ffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
6.2. Impact of quality factor (Q) of coils on the efficiency of ICPT k Q 1 Q 2 . It reveals that the higher the values of the coupling
system coefficient and quality factors, the greater the efficiency.

The quality factor quantifies how much the coil is purely

inductive. It signifies its ability to produce a large magnetic field.
Normally, the ICPT system is designed to operate at a fixed
frequency; however, sometimes, due to a change in parameters,
i.e. capacitance or load, the air gap causes the change in system
frequency, so the transfer efficiency drops. Therefore, the system
does not operate at a zero phase angle frequency.
The native quality factor of primary and secondary coil can be
calculated as:
ωL1 ωL2
Q1 ¼ ; Q2 ¼
R1 R2
The loaded quality of series and parallel compensated ICPT
system are given in Table 3.
A bifurcation phenomenon occurs when a system has more
than one zero phase angle frequency [47]. Fig. 12 shows the
efficiency characteristics during bifurcation phenomenon. It can
be seen that there are more than one resonant frequencies where
the efficiency becomes high. It has been shown in [47,48] that the
bifurcation phenomenon highly depends on the quality factors of
the coils. The condition for bifurcation in SS topology is derived
7. Development of ICPT system
7.1. Compensation technologies
The increase in air gap between two inductive coils increases
the leakage inductance and magnetizing current, and, accordingly,
the coupling between them weakens. The circuit is operated at a
resonant frequency to compensate the leakage inductance and to
strengthen the coupling between the resonant coils [50]. It has
ð20Þ been analyzed that the primary coil compensation can minimize
the apparent power rating of the power supply of the ICPT system,
while the secondary coil compensation can increase the capability
of the pick-up coil [31]. This is achieved by operating the system at
the zero phase angle frequency, i.e. the angle between the current
and voltage is always kept at zero. The arrangement of the
capacitor connections for compensation on both sides either in
series or parallel makes four topologies – series–series (SS), series–
parallel (SP), parallel–series (PS) and parallel–parallel (PP) – as
shown in Fig. 14. All these four basic topologies have different
merits and demerits that are presented in Table 4. The selection of
 K.A. Kalwar et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 47 (2015) 462–475 469

Cp Cs Cp
I1 I2 I1 I2

V1 Lp Ls RL V1 Lp Ls RL
Cs
M M
Series-Series Compensated
Series-Parallel Compensated
ICPT
ICPT
Cs
I1 I2 I1 I2

V1 Lp Ls RL V1 Cp Lp Ls Cs
RL
Cp

M M
Parallel-Series Compensated Parallel-Parallel Compensated
ICPT ICPT
Fig. 14. Compensation topologies (a) SS, (b) SP, (c) PS, (d) PP.

Table 4
Characteristics of compensation topologies.

Topology Acts as Independent of changes Power factor at small Power factor at small Total impedance at resonant Efficiency
in distance distance state

Series–series (SS) Voltage C2 Low Very high Low Very high

source
Series–parallel Current C2 Low High Low Medium
(SP) source
Parallel–series Voltage C1 High Medium High Medium
(PS) source
Parallel–parallel Current C1 Very high Medium High High
(PP) source

4 1
Series-Parallel
Parallel-Parallel
Series-Series 0.8 Parallel-Series
3

0.6
I2 /I 2r

I2/I 2r

2
0.4

1
0.2

0 0
-100 -75 -50 0 50 75 100
-100 -90 -50 0 50 90 100
X% Misalignment X% Misalignment
Fig. 16. The behavior of PS, PP topologies in absence of secondary [50].
Fig. 15. The behavior of SS, SP topologies in absence of secondary [50].

the topologies depends upon their suitability for specific applica-
tions satisfying the respective requirements, as SS and SP topol-
ogies can transfer higher power than the rated, but these offer an
uncertain behavior to the supply [50], and the PS and the PP
compensated ICPT systems are safe for the supply in the absence of
secondary winding but these are unable to transfer the rated
power if the coils are somewhat misaligned. The behavior of
SS and SP topologies when the secondary is absent is shown
in Fig. 15; the current rises due decrease in impedance with
increase in misalignment. The I 2 is load current and I 2r is rated
load current. However in PS, PP the current decreases as the total
impedance increases due to misalignment as shown in Fig. 16.
They require additional series inductor to control the inverter
output current flowing through primary parallel resonant circuit,
however, the size and cost of converter is increased. In [51], a
series-parallel LCL pick-up design was presented that offered
uninterrupted controlled power and smooth power transitions
during switching states but it reflected reactive power back onto
the source [52]. Moreover, the SP topology depends upon the
coupling coefficient and requires a high-value of capacitance for
stronger magnetic coupling [53]. According to [31,54], the SS
topology is considered as the most suitable for EV charging
because the primary and secondary capacitances are unimpeded
from both the magnetic coupling coefficient and the load. It may
470 K.A. Kalwar et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 47 (2015) 462–475

also act as a constant current and voltage source that is desirable
for battery charging.
Besides these four conventional compensation topologies,
other meritorious designs are proposed [21,31,48,55]. In [31] a
design based on a primary compensated circuit was presented that
minimized the effects of frequency shifts to avoid a low coupling
coefficient. In [54], parallel–parallel–series (PPS) topology has
been implemented that offered higher efficiency than PP topology
for same distance of 50 mm and load of 1 Ω. The power factor of
inverter in PPS topology has higher power factor than PP, however
for smaller misalignment the PP topology has good performance
than PPS. Vila et al. [50] presented the SPS design, which offered
better performance for 2 kW prototype in terms of misalignment
toleration and efficiency as compared to the basic compensation
topologies for the load of 1.25 Ω. The selection of PPS and SPS
topologies may done according to application requirement as SPS
would not fit where less misalignment is expected but PPS can be
useful. The Sakamato et al. [56] presented an inductive coupler
design that is capable of providing high self-inductance and less
leakage inductance resulting in 8.3 kW of power transferred at an
air gap of 3 mm with more than 97% efficiency.
7.2. Charging distance
The large air gap has been the main consideration in the
development of EV charging, as a reasonable ground clearance is
required between the EV chassis and the charging pad fixed in the
ground. An air gap of a few hundred millimeters is considered
necessary for EV application [57] and the value of k in the EV
charging ICPT systems has been observed to be between 0.3 and
0.6 [31].
Table 5
ICPT systems using ferrite core.
In the quest to achieve efficient, optimum and high power
transfer, research has been carried out on various transformers
with a core and without a core (air core). Many designs have been
proposed using an air core [20] and ferrite core [43]. Ferrite cores
have been preferred because of their improved coupling coeffi-
cient and lower cost compared to others [14]. Table 5 shows a
comparison between ICPT EV charging systems employing a ferrite
core and an air core. This comparison reveals that the coupling
coefficient in the ICPT systems using a core is higher than in the air
core systems.
Extensive research studies have been conducted and published
over time concerning the optimization of the charging pad by
employing different core shapes. Initially, U cores, E cores and pot
cores were examined but these were incompatible with EV
application due to their greater thickness. The single-sided wind-
ing with a circular core shape, as shown in Fig. 17, was considered
and used in the EV charging applications for long spans of time
[31,61]. Mecke and Rathge [57] used circular coils of 400 mm
diameter to transfer 1 kW power with an air gap of 300 mm. They
achieved an overall power transfer system efficiency of more than
80% but misalignment was not focused upon. In [62], a 2 kW 700-
mm-diameter circular power pad with a 200 mm air gap was
proposed. The single-sided circular core offered both a low leakage
electric field and electromagnetic radiation, which are desirable in
EV charging. Less leakage of an electric field is preferable due to
the surrounding metallic structures in the EV as the pick-up coil is
embedded in the EV chassis. The circular pads exhibited limited
coupling and offered poor tolerance to horizontal offset. In [62], it
was shown that the pick-up coil should be aligned with the
transmitting coil for the charging of the EV using circular coils,
however, when the misalignment attained an offset of around
740%, the output power fell to zero. Budhia et al. [19] proposed a
meritorious solution to overcome the limitations revealed by the
circular pad. They introduced and optimized a new polarized
coupler called a Double D Quadrature (DDQ), as shown in Fig. 18.

Ferrite cored ICPT systems Air cored ICPT systems

Ref Charging Coupling Ref Charging Coupling

no. distance (mm) coefficient no. distance (mm) coefficient

[11] 70 0.35 [25] 200 0.16

[58] 80 0.25 [32] 2000 0.01
[59] 6 0.72 [60] 300 0.05

Fig. 18. Double-D quadrature magnetic couple design [13].

Fig. 17. Single-sided circular charging pad [13]. Fig. 19. Rectangular H-shaped core [63].
 K.A. Kalwar et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 47 (2015) 462–475
The DDQ produced a flux path height twice that of a circular pad
together with having a single-sided flux path completely inter-
operable with the traditional circular pads.
According to [63] and [64], the double-sided windings with
rectangular core shape, as shown in Fig. 19, have also have been
considered for EV charging systems. The double-sided rectangular
H-shaped core type was compact and lightweight but resulted in a
low coupling coefficient due to its leakage flux at the back of the
core, however, this leakage flux could be shielded by the
aluminum sheet.
As there is an escalation in both the static and dynamic charging of
EVs, accordingly, such power pads should be developed that can
handle both [19]. In the design of power pads, the winding width
should be sufficient enough to prevent the decrease in k. To decide
upon the optimum winding width, Takanashi et al. [35] determined
the effect of the winding width (w) and magnetic air gap (g) on the
efficiency. It has been analyzed that a larger w/g ratio could observe
maximum efficiency at a w/g ratio of 1.4. However, the large size of
the secondary coil cannot fit on an EV chassis. Thus, it is required to
keep in view the geometry of the secondary coil while designing for
an EV chassis. According to [62], an increase in coil diameter with
centered ferrite core can increase the self-inductance in a greater
proportion than the mutual inductance that reduced the coupling
coefficient. Generally, the magnetic coupling decays at 1=r 3 , r being
the distance from center loop, thus it seems that the size of magnetic
charging pad can be increased but there are some limitations due to
cost [65].
7.3. Power level
The power level for the ICPT system accommodates several
important aspects including charging time, location, and cost [66].
The suitability of ICPT in different applications, charging time and
the cost significantly depends upon the selection of the power
level. A high power level is desirable when more vehicles are being
charged from a single charging track. The static charging of EV
prefers power levels of 2–7 kW with an operational air gap of 100–
250 mm.
Different codes and standards suggest different criteria for the
suitability of the power level selected for EV charging. The Society
of Automotive Engineers (SAE) J1772 code describes the power
level according to three categories that define different amounts of
energy transfer requiring different infrastructure. The power level
may also be classified according to on-board (the charger located
inside the EV) and off-board charging [67]. The charging levels
prescribed in SAE J1772 are summarized in Table 6.
Different OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) manufac-
ture production with different specifications that do not follow a
single standard worldwide. Recently, the SAE international J2954
Table 6
Power levels defined by code J1772 [69].
Power level type Charger location Typical use
Level 1 (Opportunity) On-board 1-phase Charging at home or office
120 Vac (US)
230 Vac (EU)
Level 2 (Primary) On-board 1- Charging at private or public outlets Dedicated EVSE
or 3- phase
240 Vac (US)
400 Vac (EU)
Level 3 (Fast) Off board 3-phase analogous to a filling station
(280 V-600 Vac
or Vdc)
471
task force for the wireless power transfer (WPT) of light duty
electric and plug-in electric vehicles [68] has proposed a specific
frequency and power level for the interoperability of EV charging
before commercialization. The proposed frequency that may be
used for charging light electric vehicles is 85 kHz, which lies
within an internationally available 81.38–90 kHz frequency band.
The power levels prescribed by this code are presented in Table 7.
7.4. Misalignment toleration
Misalignment is the displacement of the pick-up coil with respect
to the transmitting coil and leads to a decline in both the efficiency
and power transfer of the ICPT system. The ICPT system for EV
charging requires maximum alignment between the coils to avoid
inefficient power transfer due to driver mistake while parking the
vehicle in the desired position [62]. The car weight may slightly
change the air gap between the EV chassis and the ground and
thereby coupling, consequently it would affect the power transfer
efficiency [64]. The ICPT charging system with perfect alignment will
reduce the leakage flux, and, as a result, it reduces the electro-
magnetic interference emission from the system; however, an ICPT
system that could offer good tolerance for misalignment to give
maximum freedom to the driver, is desirable [31].
Misalignment may be classified as lateral or longitudinal, in
which the lateral misalignment can occur when coils are horizon-
tally misaligned and longitudinal misalignment can occur when
the coils are irregular with respect to their length [70]. Both types
of misalignment may reduce the mutual inductance, and can cause
the ICPT system to operate on a frequency other than what was
designed with a low coupling coefficient k. When the secondary
coil of a single-sided winding transformer with circular core is
displaced 40% from the transmitter coil, the coupling coefficient
becomes zero, as can be observed from Fig. 20. In [43], a polarized
flux pipe was presented that offered better tolerance to misalign-
ment than the circular pad and met the tolerance requirements for
an EV. In [19], a Double D Quadrature (DDQ) coil design was
presented, which offered far greater tolerance than a circular coil
and was also compatible with circular coils. It may be observed
that when the double-sided windings are misaligned to a certain
position, as shown in Fig. 21, they still have good coupling because
the flux linkage path is extended compared to the circular coils, as
shown in Fig. 20 [64]. The ICPT systems can have a variable
coupling coefficient, thus a perfect frequency control that keeps
the ICPT circuit to remain in the state of resonance or coil
geometry optimization that can offer high efficiency with a
reasonable misalignment between coils may be employed, how-
ever, the system becomes either complex in terms of frequency
control or costly due to the geometry of the coils [62,71].
Energy supply interface Expected power level Charging time Vehicle technology
Convenience outlet 1.4 kW (12 A) 4–11 h PHEVs (5–15 kWh)
1.9 kW(20 A) 11–36 h EVs(16–50 kWh)
4 kW (17 A) 1–4 h PHEVs(5–15 kWh)
8 kW (32 A) 2–6 h EVs(16–30 kWh)
19.2 kW(80 A) 2–3 h EVs(3–50 kWh)
Dedicated EVSE 50 kW 0.4–1 h EVs(20–50 kWh)
100 kW
472 K.A. Kalwar et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 47 (2015) 462–475

Table 7
The Power levels defined by code J2954 [68].

SAE TIR J2954 WPT Power class

Classification WPT1 house parking WPT2 private/public parking WPT3 L.D. fast charge
Maximum input WPT power rating 3.7 kW 7.7 kW 22 kW

Secondary Coils (Car)

8. Design criteria of ICPT system
Position(A) Position(B)

The development of ICPT design is done systematically using

iterative process or experimental analysis. The principal condition
for maximum power in ICPT system is resonant frequency opera-
tion. Thus the design of ICPT system primarily corresponds to the
Magnetic parameters that are necessary for resonant operation. These
Flux parameters are winding inductances (Lp ; Ls ), their respective
Primary Coil capacitances (C p ; C s ) that are connected with them and resonant
(Ground) frequency ( f o ). Following is resonant condition for inductive
Fig. 20. Single-sided winding transformer misalignment [64].
power transfer.
1 1
ωo ¼ pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi ¼ pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi ð25Þ
Secondary Transformer Lp C P Ls C s
(Car)
Lateral Forward Direction Or
x Position
Direction (B) 1 1
y fo ¼ pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi ¼ pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi; Since ωo ¼ 2 π f o ð26Þ
Position 2π Lp C P 2π Ls C s
(A)
Considering the overall ICPT system, design process involves
Ferrite Cores the amount of power to be transferred, load resistance, desired
Primary Transformer Magnetic load voltage. Based upon of the amount of power, the frequency,
(Ground) Flux inductances, capacitances are selected. The inductance of windings
depends on number of turns and dimensions of coils and may be
Fig. 21. Double-sided winding transformer misalignment [64].
varied as per requirement. A meritorious study on design process
has been presented in [21] that provides a flow diagram of ICPT
Cp1 R1 Cs design process depicted in Fig. 24. This design flow process can be
I1 R2
applied for low to high power level ICPT system. According to this
I2 flow diagram the design process initiates with initial geometry,
Vs Cp2 Lp M Ls RL number of turns, cross sectional area and current density of coils
VL
and then an iterative process is applied until the fulfilment of
required power level with permissible maximum frequency, geo-
Fig. 22. Circuit of SPS topology [50]. metry of coil. From Eq. (6), it clear that the resonant operating
frequency is related to the amount of power to be transferred;
Cp Cs2 higher the power to be transferred, higher will be the operating
I1 R1 R2 frequency. But higher frequencies are limited due to switching
I2 speed of inverter. To ensure high efficiency in ICPT system, the
coupling coefficient and quality factors of coils should be high. The
Vs Lp M Ls Cs1 RL
VL coupling coefficient may be improved by various magnetic shapes
such as combination of ferrite core and litz wire. The coils of high
Q-factor enable protection from electromagnetic interference [72].
Fig. 23. Circuit of PPS topology [54].
Generally ICPT systems are designed for either fixed frequency
operation or variable frequency operation. In variable frequency
The ICPT compensation circuits play a significant role in misalign- operation, the ICPT systems are designed in such a way that their
ment toleration. Throngnumchai et al. [54] pointed out that basic input VA should be greater than secondary VA to avoid point of
compensation circuit topologies SS, SP, PS and PP are not suitable for bifurcation and power loss [49].
ICPT systems considering the need for low sensitivity to the mis- Nowadays new trends in magnetic coupler designs and elec-
alignment requirements of EVs, high power level and larger air gap. A tronic are being introduced [46,73].
meritorious study was conducted on the misali-
gnment performance enhancement of ICPT by selecting a suitable
SPS compensation topology, shown in Fig. 22, that realized the rated 9. Control algorithms
power transfer with the high misalignment of the pick-up coil
without any complex control [62]. In [31], another circuit topology The variation in air gap and alignment causes the change in
PPS, shown in Fig. 23, was proposed and validated experimentally, load resistance and magnetic coupling between primary and
which resulted in recoverable potency of the circuit to counter the secondary coil. There can be a deviation in frequency of inverter
variation in coupling and thereby permitted power transfer at a and load can vary over a considerable range. Uncertain charac-
reasonably larger air gap. The circuit topology presented was able to teristics can be expected due to all these issues. The output
enhance the power factor of the output of the inverter and that of the voltage of secondary coil may vary excessively from designed
transmitter coil to overcome the low coupling coefficient. value. To avoid undesirable characteristics under various
 K.A. Kalwar et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 47 (2015) 462–475 473

Fig. 24. Flow diagram of ICPT design [21].

Reference Controller Gate High Frequency ICPT

Current (DSP/FPGA) Drive Converter Coil

Zero Current Current

Filter
Crossing detection Detection

Magnitude
Detection

Fig. 25. Control block diagram of ICPT Coil Supply.

operating conditions and to maintain a normal operation of
power transfer, a proper control is essential. It will prevent from
output voltage fluctuation, where a constant supply is important.
The control strategy may be applied to different parts of ICPT;
Individually for primary coil power supply control and secondary
coil power control or synchronised control of primary and
secondary coils. The control of secondary coil is more common
in order to get stabilized voltage.
The circuit of inductively coupled power transformer is shown
in Fig. 6. A high frequency inverter is necessary to operate the
resonant circuit and produce high frequency supply for primary coil.
The operating frequency of inverter switches has to match with the
designed frequency of coils but fixed frequency control cannot
manage variation of circuit parameters, and as a result the switches
practice high voltage or current stress, and high energy loss in the
form of heat. Thus variable frequency control has been developed to
474 K.A. Kalwar et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 47 (2015) 462–475
ensure circuit resonance [74]. Proportional–integral (PI) controllers
have been implemented to control the input and output current
through DSP, FPGA and other devices [2,18,53,58,75]. Atypical control
block diagram of input current is shown in Fig. 25. Promoting the
concept of bidirectional power transfer for V2G (vehicle-to-grid)
system and V2H (vehicle-to-home), some coordinated controller
including single-ended quasi resonant high frequency inverter, direc-
tional tuning control and synchronised PWM with high frequency
communication system have been implemented [76–78].
10. Future recommendations
Although EVs have huge potential to switch conventional
transport into modern electric transport, they are not commonly
adopted yet due to various technical and commercial obstacles. A
positive approach to these obstacles is expected in the near future
to replace conventional vehicles with EVs.
 Besides ferrite cores, the research may be extended to a unique
core material and design that provides high magnetic field
strength and low core losses to allow users to charge freely
regardless of the misalignment issue within permissible limits.
 During the optimization process to avoid the copper losses, the
current ratings can be kept at possible low values.
 The challenge for future EVs would be the long mileage. The long
mileage by an EV mainly requires a high-energy density battery
that could be charged within a few minutes and last for several
hundred miles. Consideration of the use of graphene material for
batteries and super-capacitors may enhance the mileage issue.
Then a single charging of EV may provide longer mileage.
11. Conclusion
This paper has provided a brief review and comparison of the
different EV charging methods and their deployment. The equiva-
lent circuit analysis and characteristics of the ICPT system were
presented. The progress of the ICPT method for various factors and
benefits from them were reviewed. The implementation of ICPT
was found to be contingent upon the leakage flux compensation
topology, charging distance and proper alignment. A trade-off
between distance, charging pad size and efficiency is necessary for
EV charging application. Advanced flux leakage compensating
topologies SPS and PPS topologies offer efficient power transfer
over large air gaps and better misalignment toleration as com-
pared to basic conventional topologies. Power levels 1 and 2 are
designed for slow and moderate charging at home and public
parking, respectively, however, power level 3 provides off board
quick charging. Rectangular and DDQ coils offer good coupling and
high misalignment consideration. Design criteria is utmost to
develop the overall ICPT system for low to high power level. To
cope with the dynamic behavior of ICPT system many controllers
have been developed to maintain input and output parameters.
Future recommendations supporting the implementation of this
technology are included.
Acknowledgment
The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support
from University of Malaya. This research was carried under the
High Impact Research Grant (UM.C/HIR/MOHE/ENG/24) scheme.
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