Formula E technical partner, Qualcomm Technologies, has unveiled the new ‘Qualcomm Safety Car’, for season two of the all-electric championship. Set to start in Beijing on October 17, 2015 the second series of the championship will take in eleven races. The second-generation safety car from Qualcomm remains a BMW i8, as with the inaugural season, but Qualcomm has revised its ‘Halo’ wireless recharging system.
For the 2015/6 season, the wireless charging system delivers 7.2kW, twice the amount of energy in comparison to last year’s 3.6kW system. This approximately halves the full charge time, enabling the vehicle to fully charge in one hour.
The system is said to employ Qualcomm’s ‘Halo DD’ technology, with a revised magnetic architecture, the system ensures higher coupling coefficients and drives lower system currents, higher efficiencies and the ability to support higher power levels.
Season Two will see a more open championship with teams encouraged to develop their own powertrain technologies. Teams are racing to bring cutting-edge technology focused on inverters, motors, transmissions and cooling systems to their race cars; not only will this ensure the racing remains highly competitive, but it supports the goal of Formula E to advance the development of new technologies for electric vehicles and to bring those technologies, vital to sustainable mobility, to the attention of millions of people around the globe.
“We are excited to continue our support of Formula E in this second season,” said Steve Pazol, general manager of wireless charging, Qualcomm Incorporated. “Qualcomm is showcasing its innovative new technologies within the Championship and using the motorsport platform to accelerate the development of automotive technologies, which is perfectly illustrated by the wireless charging technology fitted to the new BMW i8 safety car.”
