A New Zealand-owned company has launched the world’s first wireless technology which allows parked or moving electric cars to charge automatically without being "pluggedin". The technology was developed by the University of Auckland’s Power Electronics Group

HaloIPT, a UK based company, owned by Auckland UniServices Ltd and Ove Arup & Partners, is the first in the world to bring to market "inductive power transfer" technology which allows cars fitted with a receiver pad to charge automatically when parked over transmitter pads buried into the ground.

Inductive power transfer systems can be configured to power any road-based vehicles from small city cars to heavy-goods vehicles and buses.

The technology is currently being demonstrated in London. In the future, it could embedded in roads so that cars can be charged on the move. This would reduce battery size and weight requirements and eliminate "range anxiety".