Oslo will become the first city to allow wireless charging of electric taxis

(Reuters– Oslo, the capital of Norway, will be the first city in the world to install wireless charging systems for electric taxis, hoping to allow quick and efficient charging to speed up taxis non-polluting.

The project will use induction technology, with charging plates installed on the road at taxi ranks, connected to the receivers installed in the vehicle, the Finnish utility Fortum announced on Thursday.

From 2023, all taxis in Oslo will have to be zero emission and Norway wants all new cars to be zero emission by 2025. Among other countries, Britain and France have goals. similar to 2040.

Fortum, which is working with the US firm Momentum Dynamics and the city of Oslo on the project, said the main obstacle to the electrification of taxis has so far been the infrastructure, as it takes too long to find a charger, then wait for the car to charge.

Induction is more energy efficient and allows taxis to be taxed when they are in very slow queues at taxi stations.

"Time is money when taxi drivers work," said Ole Gudbrann Hempel, head of the Fortum public charging network in Norway.

The car ownership rate is the highest in the world in Norway, thanks in part to long-term benefits such as free or discounted tolls, car parks and charging stations. Last year, nearly one in three new cars sold was electric.

The government is also exempting electric vehicles from the traditional vehicle tax, which is very high in a country that does not have its own fossil fuel-based automobile sector.

With only five million inhabitants, Norway bought 46,143 new electric battery-powered cars in 2018, making it the largest market in Europe, ahead of Germany with 36,216 and France with 31,095, according to the report. Association of European Automobile Manufacturers.

(Edited by Terje Solsvik and David Holmes)