When Nikola Tesla, renowned inventor and contributor to the design of alternating current power systems, first demonstrated wireless energy transfer (Wet) in 1891, he probably did not expect that it would take over a century for the idea to catch on. In fact, by the time of his death in 1943, Tesla undoubtedly suspected it would never catch on, having been bankrupted and labelled a mad scientist in the pursuit of developing Wet and other technologies.
It would not be until the turn of the millennium that Wet began building steam once again, this time at university campuses around the world. Following some initial research by Prof Ron Hui of Hong Kong University, Wet really began to come into its own in 2007. That year, Prof Marin Soljačić and his assistants at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) succeeded in turning on a 60W light bulb at a distance of two metres with 40% energy transfer efficiency in a project called Witricity.
Soljačić’s work led to the development of Witricity as a fully‐fledged spin‐out of MIT, which was launched the same year. Since then, the company has developed its technology for use in consumer electronics, automotive, industrial, medical and military sectors.
It is now offering a range of prototypes and development kits, and has signed numerous licensees, the two most notable publicly announced companies being multinational electronics firm TDK and car manufacturer Toyota, which joined private corporate investors in an unspecified seven‐figure investment. Witricity also completed a $25m venture round late last year, bringing its total venture investment to over $45m.
The rise of Witricity could not have come at a better time. Driven by the flexibility of the development’s application in such a diverse range of sectors, it is estimated the global market for Wet technologies will increase by 86.5% annually, and could be worth $4.5bn globally by 2016.
One area demonstrating particularly keen interest is the automotive sector. While tackling climate change should be at the forefront when considering a mode of transport, due to limitations and perceived inconveniences, electric cars are yet to receive a unanimous stamp of approval from the general public. Wet could go a long way to supporting the roll‐out of electric cars.
First, a car could be charged simply by parking it in proximity to a charging point, such as within a garage or near the owner’s house. Second, it should be feasible to charge cars remotely while on the move, dependent on infrastructure development, thus negating the need to stop at a gas station.
Car manufacturers are becoming more open to this vision of the future, and several have been looking to get involved with Witricity to flesh out the idea. Along with Toyota, both Audi and Mitsubishi have signed deals with the MIT company to explore the idea of wireless charging for electric cars.
In the UK, Imperial College London (ICL) has recently partnered clean‐tech automotive firm Drayson Technologies, which holds the world land speed record for a wirelessly‐charged electric car, to form Drayson Wireless, based on ICL intellectual property.
Paul Drayson, chairman and CEO of Drayson Technologies, said: “Over recent years we have seen a revolution in the way wireless technology has transformed communications, making smartphones and social media part of our everyday lives. The same is about to happen to energy, and Drayson Wireless aims to be at the centre of this next revolution.”
Consumer electronics is another obvious area for Wet. A common gripe consumers have had since the launch of the Walkman and Gameboy up to today’s range of tablets and smartphones has been battery power. Wet offers the opportunity to power portable electronics simply by walking into a Wet‐enabled room. It also makes possible the remote powering of general household electronics – the aesthetics of mounting a flatscreen on the wall will no longer be ruined by a trail of wires, and the space behind desktop computers will cease to be a jungle of cables.
Implementing such technologies in today’s gadgets would offer any manufacturer a commanding edge over rivals, and was the motivation behind TDK’s interest.
Witricity and TDK are not without rivals. Auckland University spin‐out Powerbyproxi has been developing Wet technologies similar to MIT, and has attracted the attention of Samsung in the process. On the back of a $4m investment by Samsung Ventures in Powerbyproxi’s $9m series C round – Samsung’s first investment into Wet – the two have formed a strategic partnership.
Samsung seems keen to see where Wet can dovetail with its product portfolio, with Michael Pachos, senior investment manager at Samsung Ventures America, saying: “We believe that wireless power transfer is going to significantly change the way consumers use and interact with their devices at home and on the go.”
If Samsung’s partnership with and eventual acquisition of organic light-emitting diode manufacturer and Dresden University spin‐out Novaled is anything to go by, Power‐byproxi can expect to have substantial backing in its development as Samsung begins to integrate Wet into its electronics.
Powerbyproxi is also taking a much more narrow focus on where it can deploy Wet than its US‐based peer. Aside from consumer electronics, Powerbyproxi’s only other focus is on industrial sectors, with potential applications in construction, energy, and telecommunications. Powerbyproxi’s various products offer solutions to numerous issues, such as using electricity in dangerous or otherwise cluttered environments, providing energy for hard to reach areas, and powering mobile units such as forklift trucks, cranes, and the like. Both Powerbyproxi and Witricity have included military and aerospace sectors as potential users.
One of the biggest game‐changers Wet offers is in the healthcare sector, particularly in implants, prosthetics and artificial organs. Currently, artificial hearts remain in the formative stage, and require recharging from an external battery pack placed directly on the skin. However, with Wet, a heart or similar device could be recharged in much the same way Wet can charge a phone or a car. With heart transplant demand severe, and the dependency on drugs to prevent organ rejection – a problem not shared with bionic counterparts – Wet could be the missing piece of the puzzle to save millions of lives from heart failure.
To this end, Witricity have entered into a technology development agreement with Thoratec, a med‐tech firm specialising in mechanical circulatory support therapies. The company is providing funding to Witricity to assist in the development of HeartMate II and heart pump products, and have already demonstrated the technology in operation.
There are other applications in health, such as implantable therapies that require substantial power to run and are currently impractical as they require constant connection to a power source, or diagnostic and other medical equipment within a hospital.
Wet, driven by university spin‐outs, has the potential to create a cleaner automotive industry and cut back on carbon output, create more reliable and accessible electronics, and literally to save lives. The lights may have turned off for Tesla before he got to see his work, begun in 1891, come to fruition, but should Wet become fully integrated with our daily lives, his legacy will be truly electrifying.