A collaboration between researchers in the UBC Sustainability Solutions Applied Physics Lab, UBC Building Operations, the UILO and the NSERC I2I program is enabling the low-frequency wireless charging technology to be developed and tested under genuine working conditions on the UBC campus.

Utilizing the same principles as the campus as a living lab projects, the innovative technology is successfully being used to charge a fleet of electric service vehicles used across the campus.

In December 2011, supported by the NSERC I2I grant, the first wireless charging station was installed at the UBC Building Operations site, removing the need to manually plug in a charging cord for one of the vehicles in the fleet. This fully automated system performed successfully in a variety of weather conditions including snow, rain and sub-zero temperatures, and has since been rolled out in multiple vehicles in the fleet, utilizing improved designs to the charging unit and occupying a smaller footprint than competing technologies.

Thanks to the partnership between Building Operations and the research team, the technology has been proven out and optimized to meet genuine operational needs under working conditions, rapidly accelerating the development process while providing UBC with a more convenient and reliable method of keeping their service vehicles charged and therefore in operation.