Formula E's BMW i8 safety car will feature wireless charging technology from Qualcomm giving it more energy from the standard model.
The i8 safety car will be fitted with Qualcomm's Halo 7.2kW wireless charging system which, according to the company, "delivers twice the amount of energy to the BMW i8's batteries per hour as compared to last year's 3.6kW system."
According to Qualcomm, their technology allows the plug-in hybrid sports car to fully charge its batteries in as little as an hour.
"Employing Qualcomm Halo DD technology, with magnetic architecture optimization, ensures higher coupling coefficients and drives lower system currents, higher efficiencies and the ability to support higher power levels," the company said in a statement.
As SlashGear noted, the BMW i8 wireless charging tech "has been in development for several years now."
"The system relies on a vehicle parking over a charging pad that transfers energy through the air to another aligned pad on the bottom side of the car."
Check out how the whole thing works in the demonstration video below:
The BMW i8 safety car was provided by the German automaker to the all-electric Formula E series after the two entities announced their partnership, BMW Blog reported. Qualcomm teamed up with BMW to outfit the vehicle with their Halo wireless charging technology.
For the second season of the series, Qualcomm encouraged teams to build on their powertrain technologies not just to ensure a highly-competitive environment but to bring those advancements "to the attention of millions of people around the globe."
"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," the company's general manager of wireless charging Steve Pazol said.
The BMW i8's wireless charging tech will be put through its paces once the second season of Formula E kicks off in Beijing on October 1, 2015.
