The transition from conventional to electric transportation has become inevitable in recent years owing to the significant impact of electric vehicles (EVs) on energy sustainability, reduction of global warming and carbon emission reduction. Despite the rapidly growing global adoption of EVs in today’s electrical and transportation networks, energy storage in EVs, particularly in regards to bulky size and charging process, still remains a major bottleneck. As a result, wireless charging of EVs via inductively coupled power transfer (ICPT) through coupled coils is becoming a promising solution. However, the efficiency of charging EV batteries via wireless charging is hugely affected by misalignment between the primary and secondary coils. This paper presents an in-depth analysis of various key factors affecting the efficiency of EV battery charging. Finite element analysis (FEA) using Ansys Maxwell^® is performed on commonly used coil designs such as circular and rectangular coils under various misalignment conditions. In addition, various reactive power compensation topologies applied in ICPT are investigated and the behavior of each topology is observed in simulation. It is revealed that circular structures with S–S compensation topology show more robustness in misalignment conditions and maintain the desired efficiency for a wider range of displacement. A critical analysis of coil designs, compensation techniques and the combination of both factors is accomplished and conclusions are presented.

Given the substantial role of electric vehicles (EV) in decarbonization, the demand for EVs has become widespread. However, the batteries have remained to be a major impediment, mainly owing to critical environmental concerns. Inductive Power Transfer (IPT) is an effective technique to eliminate the reliance on batteries due to the possibility of charging without requiring physical connection. This paper conducts a thorough analytical review of the most recent advancements in the design of IPT couplers and identifies the gaps and future opportunities. Various facets of IPT systems are reviewed, different coil designs are compared, and their performance is examined. In-depth theoretical analysis is conducted through mathematical modelling, and the electric and magnetic equations are derived to ensure accurate outcomes. Moreover, a Python code has been developed to perform the magnetic computations and produce 3D graphs of the total magnetic flux linkage. In addition, performance evaluations have been conducted for complex couplers based on the simulation results executed in Ansys software. To achieve a comprehensive review, the trade-off trends of coil design are presented, and the relevant proposed optimization techniques are reviewed and explained. This paper is anticipated to be a comprehensive resource for researchers seeking both in-depth theoretical analysis of IPT systems and thorough review of the coupler designs.