In future could wireless power transmission be used to power moving electrical cars?

Question

At present electric cars are powered by batteries, fuel cells or internal generators. This increases the weight of the car, batteries need to be recharged, it is difficult to store hydrogen to power a fuel cell and an internal generator is fuelled by fossil fuels. An electric car powered by a remote, but continuous power supply would be cheaper than a battery and negate the need for an expensive distribution fuelling system.

Answer 1

I believe it can be, but not as in radio broadcast, that would be rather hazadous to health at the energy levels needed, and wasteful as most would just enter the environment without being used at all.

As induction via inclusions in the road surface yes it is possible, sure a few technical issues, but nothing that can't be overcome. The voltage issue with varying gap is no problem if the power is used to charge a small battery which drives the vehicle. Also means that not every road and every driveway needs to be energized.

And for a really low tech version look no further than the electric trolley buses and trams and electric trains that have been around for years. Now imagine sections of roadway, not all roads fitted with power options, whatever they be, and a modest battery in the vehicle, you charge your battry at home and wherever you park, but also on the powered sections of the roads, that way your range is pretty much limitless and weight and cost of your vehicle is kept low, and any safety aspects of powered sections of roads can be dealt with as only some sections need to be powered not all, and not every vehicle needs to use the power every time. So yes I can see it as a real option. (technology currently used by toll collectors on many toll roads, using radio transponders on your vehicle, can be used to bill every user for the power used). Nothing new or difficult, just expensive and requiring an innovative government or investor with deep pockets.

Answer 2

If Tesla hadn't been too busy inventing other things to write down his notes we would already have it.

Answer 3

Almost immediately as the signal leaves the antenna it looses 120 dBm. U can  over come that loss.

Answer 4

You're talking about "broadcast Power".

This was a 1960's dream that never came true, and never will.  You're talking about streaming electricity through the air in a broad field, to be picked up by a moving vehicle?

You'd fry anything and everything that got in between.

Inductive power via a coil built into the road would require a constant 'air-gap' beneath the car to maintain a constant VA for driving the motor(s). Again not a practical possibility. Plus there would have to be a massive "secondary" coil in the floor of the vehicle to complete the "transformer" that would power the the vehicle.

It would be more practical to work along the lines of 'mag-lev' as in the German train system, though having a raft of individual vehicles on a single 'mag-lev' could get a bit hazardous!