NYC’s next wireless car charging stations: manhole covers

There may or may not be giant alligators lurking below the streets of New York City, depending on who you ask, but the covers that protect people from the beasts will have another use in the near future.

Manhole covers have always terrified me, as I seem to have an inexplicable phobia of someday falling into one that wasn’t on right or simply wasn’t on at all. But one company’s idea of turning a manhole into a wireless charging station for electric vehicles (EV) somehow makes them seem less scary.

By using a resonance-based charging system installed underneath the city pavement via a pre-existing manhole cover, Hevo Power aims to promote electric vehicle usage for those who previously found the process of juicing up their engine a chore. Resonance charging was chosen over traditional inductive charging because of its efficiency in energy conservation and faster rate of charge at further distances.