California-based global mobile and wireless technology company Qualcomm Inc. is investing in the UK to help spread its wireless EV charging technology.

Qualcomm is investing in Chargemaster Plc, the UK’s largest manufacturer and operator of electric vehicle charging points.

The move, which is seen as an acceleration of the planned UK development, production and deployment of Wireless Electric Vehicle Charging (WEVC) technology, will help bring about a significant step-change in the practical everyday operation of electric vehicles, said Chargemaster.

Chargemaster, based in Luton, designs, develops, manufactures and operates charging points for electric vehicles. It said it has produced over 27,000 charging points for use in public, workplace and domestic locations and operates POLAR, tconsidered he UKs largest network of public charging points.

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Chargemaster added it sees a market for charging pads at domestic, workplace and public locations and the new points will supplement the company’s existing EV charging network. The company stated it has already installed more than 10,000 ‘wireless ready’ public and workplace charging points in the UK and Europe, which can be easily adapted to include Qualcomm’s new WEVC systems.

Qualcomm explained its Halo WEVC technology utilizes resonant magnetic induction to transfer energy from a ground-based pad to a pad integrated into the vehicle. The base pad and vehicle pad are coupled magnetically and energy is transferred wirelessly into the vehicle and used to charge the vehicle’s batteries. The base pad may be mounted on a garage or road surface or buried below the ground. This technology is, said Qualcomm, highly efficient and is designed to allow easy alignment when parking.

“We have been working with Qualcomm for several years now and this investment is a natural progression,” said David Martell, CEO of Chargemaster. “We are very excited about helping to bring the next major evolution in electric motoring to the market, making the electric driving experience even more enjoyable and practical for daily use.”

Wireless charging removes the need to plug a cable into a charging point whenever the car needs to be charged. Qualcomm added many car manufacturers are planning to incorporate wireless charging into their electric and plug in hybrid cars as original equipment in the near future, but did not specify who are these manufacturers.

“Qualcomm Halo WEVC is viewed as the future of EV charging by many EV manufacturers,” said Dr Anthony Thomson, Vice President of Business Development Marketing, Qualcomm Europe. “Chargemaster is a leader in the deployment of charging infrastructure and by making this investment we are taking another step towards deployment of a convenient and easy to use WEVC network. The goal being to improve the user experience and drive the uptake of electric vehicles.”