Non-contact energy transfer for the on-board power supply of Transrapid vehicles

The task of transferring power between stationary and mobile units is one that occurs in many areas of technology. Classic solutions such as current collectors, which are frequently used in applications such as transport systems, suffer from substantial disadvantages with respect to robustness, flexibility and maintenance requirements due to their mechanical mode of operation. The IPS® (Inductive Power Supply) was therefore developed for the latest generation of the Transrapid superspeed maglev system to provide non-contact transmission of sufficient electrical power to cover the vehicle's power requirements in the lower range of speeds. Now that the system has been successfully proved, this innovative technology for high-performance, non-contact power transmission can also be usefully employed in other applications and ensures simple operation even under difficult environmental conditions.