Multi-Port Wireless Charging Architectures for Sustainable and Decarbonized Waterborne Transportation
Keywords:
Wireless power transfer, electric vessels, multi-port charging, inductive power transfer, capacitive power transferAbstract
Battery electric vehicles, harbor craft and autonomous vessels mandate high-power charging in a saltwater environment where they are moving, corroding and in contact with humans; while all of these technologies exist, to date no one has conquered the challenge of power connectors in that environment. This survey covers multiple-port wireless dock-and-charge schemes for waterborne transportation focusing particularly on inductive/capacitive wireless power transfer (WPT), multiple-port modular topologies, interaction with on-port energy systems, dock sensors for alignment and scheduling at the vessel level. This review focuses on charging at close distances – either docked or quasi-docked – and not long-range docking via microwave or laser transmission. The literature is split into the following categories: Coupling Hardware, Compensation and Control, Multi-port Power Sharing, Port Energy Management and Maritime Safety Validation. The discovery is that while single vessel wireless charging is the closest to being deployed, multi-port wireless charging docks still remain largely in the research and prototype phase.
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