After a year and a half of building on a shaky linguistic base, my Japanese has progressed enough to be able to read the newspaper (thank you ICI). It’s still slow going but reading a newspaper in a foreign language is a great complement to other news sources and brings a nice cultural perspective while keeping you more up to date on what’s going on from the Japanese perspective. I also now come across articles I wouldn’t see other places. One of those is referred to in the title of this piece. In last weekend’s Nikkei Sunday edition there is a piece on what the Japanese government and corporations are doing to try to make wireless recharging for electric vehicles a reality.
NEDO (New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization), a part of the Japanese government, has a plan to continue funding development of special batteries and test embedding electric transmission coils in highways so that electric cars can roll across several long stretches of highway and wirelessly charge their batteries while driving. By 2015, experiments are to be conducted at intersections to test the technology and prepare for a larger roll out around cities by 2030 and highways around the country by 2050.
A more short term and easier method for wireless EV charging is being pursued by Nissan, which envisions coils placed in parking spaces so that cars can charge while parked. Such as technology would come in handy at Japan’s car-sharing service TimesPlus.
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