KCI to be first US airport with wireless charging for electric fleet

Dec. 21, 2021

The inductive charging solution is part of a new terminal project that will open in 2023.

KCI Airport will be the first in the U.S. to install an wireless inductive charging system for its battery electric shuttle buses.

Kansas City International Airport (KCI) has installed a wireless charging vehicle system as part of the Kansas City Aviation Department’s $1.5-billion Kansas City International Airport New Terminal project. The wireless chargers will extend the range of the airport’s electric buses.

Momentum Dynamics will provide the charging solution, which will be in place when the New Terminal opens in 2023. The wireless charging solution will be a first for a U.S. airport. It’s a bar KCI Airport is comfortable clearing as it was also the first U.S. airport to deploy electric buses for passenger service when it introduced four 30-foot BYD battery-electric buses in 2017. It has since added three additional electric buses.

“We are designing and building a modern New Terminal and we want to make sure that its support infrastructure does not detract from the design,” said Acting Fleet Manager Aaron Kaden. “Inductive charging was not only an efficient solution in terms of monetary outlay and ongoing costs, but was the only system we found that can deliver energy without the traditional plug-in infrastructure.”

The fleet of buses travels along a seven-mile loop and the inductive system will provide incremental charging to keep the vehicles in service longer. The Kansas City Aviation Department explains the system will be supported by two 300 kilowatt (kW) wireless chargers located at shuttle bus stops at the New Terminal. While awaiting passengers, the electric buses will park over the charging pads and will automatically receive incremental charging. Charging takes place while passengers are loading and unloading, and each session ends when the bus leaves the pad.

“We are proud to be a part of the new KCI terminal project, which thanks to the visionary approach of the KCI leadership team, will enhance the beautiful terminal’s electric vehicle operations by providing invisible, automatic charging without disrupting passengers or drivers,” said Andy Daga, CEO and founder of Momentum Dynamics, a global leader in high-power inductive charging.

About the Author

Mischa Wanek-Libman | Editor in Chief

Mischa Wanek-Libman serves as editor in chief of Mass Transit magazine. She is responsible for developing and maintaining the magazine’s editorial direction and is based in the western suburbs of Chicago.

Wanek-Libman has spent more than 20 years covering transportation issues including construction projects and engineering challenges for various commuter railroads and transit agencies. She has been recognized for editorial excellence through her individual work, as well as for collaborative content.

She is an active member of the American Public Transportation Association's Marketing and Communications Committee and serves as a Board Observer on the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association (NRC) Board of Directors.

She is a graduate of Drake University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and Mass Communication with a major in magazine journalism and a minor in business management.