Nissan Leaf goes wireless: shows wireless charger in work

Nissan Leaf EV was a novelty and a revolution in the electric car industry when it was introduced last year. In fact it's named the Car of the Year by many awarding organizations. Today, during the press days of the 2011 Tokyo Auto Show Nissan took the Leaf to the next level.

On the sidelines of Tokyo Motor Show, Nissan unveiled a wireless charging system for the Leaf.

This is a huge step removing one major question from a buyer's mind when considering purchasing an electric car. Often when you want to buy an electric car you have to ask whether a charging station or an electric outlet is not too far when you need to charge your electric vehicle. Nissan now offers a solution which is likely to delight many EV drivers and actually down the road may make it easy to for people to consider an electric car for their next purchase.

The Japanese auto maker has just unveiled a technology that makes the charging of Nissan Leaf's battery wireless. Here is how it works.

There is a flat pad device installed in the customer's garage or in a parking lot. The system allows the user to charge the car without needing an extension cord. The driver simply parks her or her Nissan Leaf over the charging device and it detects the presence of a car. Once the device detects the presence of a car it begins charging the batteries.

Electromagnetic induction does the work. Electricity is drawn from the recharging coil and contacts the car's batteries. This is truly the glimpse of the future EV charging.

Nissan says the wiresless charging will not be effected by various weather conditions or weather changes. The charging time does not change either, which presently is eight hours. The company says it's wireless charging technology will be available in Leafs starting 2013.