WiTricity explained

WiTricity Corporation
Type:Private
Industry:Wireless power transfer
Predecessors:-->
Successors:-->
Founder:Marin Soljačić
Hq Location City:Watertown, Massachusetts
Hq Location Country:United States
Areas Served:-->
Profit:-->
Profit Year:-->
Owners:-->

WiTricity Corporation is an American wireless charging technology company based in Watertown, Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) spin-off was founded by professor Marin Soljačić in 2007. WiTricity technology allows wireless power transfer over distance via magnetic resonance and the company licenses technology and reference designs for wireless electrical vehicle (EV) charging as well as consumer products such as laptops, mobile phones and televisions.

History

The company was established by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) professor Marin Soljačić in 2007.[1] [2] The MIT spin-off is based in Watertown, Massachusetts.[3] In 2014,[4] WiTricity joined the Alliance for Wireless Power (A4WP), which later merged with the Power Matters Alliance to form the AirFuel Alliance.[3] Alex Gruzen replaced Eric Giler as chief executive officer (CEO) in 2014.[5] [6] Morris Kesler serves as chief technology officer (CTO).[7] [8] The company is a member of the Wireless Power Consortium.[9]

In 2017, WiTricity began focusing on charging systems for electric vehicles more than consumer technology products.[2] By 2018, WiTricity had partnered with more than a dozen automotive companies, including nine of the world's largest ten, on research and development projects.[10] Audi, Mahle GmbH, and Mitsubishi were among the partnering companies.[6] [11]

In 2018, WiTricity was named a New Energy Pioneer by Bloomberg New Energy Finance.[12] [13] The company acquired the assets and intellectual property rights of Qualcomm Halo and its inductive charging technology in February 2019; the deal included more than 1,000 patents and patent applications,[14] as well as technology designs and licenses, and made Qualcomm a minority owner of WiTricity.[6] In late 2020, MIT and WiTricity filed an infringement lawsuit against the Pennsylvania-based company Momentum Dynamics over seven wireless energy transfer patents.[15] The lawsuit resulted in the invalidation of six of the asserted patents, and WiTricity filed a second infringement suit in March 2023.[16]

Funding

Prior to Toyota's investment in 2011, WiTricity had raised approximately $15 million.[17] By April 2013, WiTricity had received approximately $45 million in funding.[1] After additional funding rounds in 2015 and 2018, the company had raised $68 million.[2] WiTricity had raised approximately $88 million in venture capital by early 2019.[14] Funders have included Delta Electronics, Foxconn, Haier, Intel, Schlumberger, and Toyota.[14] [18]

In 2020, WiTricity completed a $34 million round led by Stage 1 Ventures with additional participation by Air Waves Wireless Electricity and Mitsubishi subsidiary Mitsubishi Corporation (Americas).[19] The round was extended for an additional $18 million raised in January 2021; Tony Fadell was among the private investors and joined WiTricity's advisory board.[20] [21]

In August 2022, WiTricity completed another round of funding raising $63 million.[22] The round was led by Siemens which invested $25 million and acquired a minority stake in the company earlier in June 2022.[23] [24] Mirae Asset Capital and Japan Energy Fund joined the round along with few other returning investors.

Technology

WiTricity's technology allows wireless power transfer over distance via magnetic resonance.[1] Alternating current (AC) electricity runs through an electromagnetic coil within a charging station to form an oscillating electromagnetic field.[25] Another coil resonating at the same frequency captures the field's energy and a rectifier delivers direct current (DC) current to a battery management system.[3] The technology works through various materials, such as stone, cement, asphalt or wood, and has an energy conversion efficiency end-to-end above 90 percent, equivalent to plugging in. By 2013–2014, electric power output had reached 10 W for mobile devices, 6 kW for passenger vehicles, and 25 kW for fleets and buses.[5] [26] WiTricity's EV has charging rates from 3.6 to 11 kW, and the technology scales up to hundreds of kilowatts for heavy duty vehicles such as buses.[27]

Uses

WiTricity has reached licensing deals with Anjie Wireless,[28] Delphi (Aptiv), Intel,[5] [29] Mahle, TDK, Toyota,[3] [14] and Zhejiang VIE.[27] Thoratec licensed the technology to produce heart pumps capable of charging automatically.[4] WiTricity has demonstrated wireless charging for consumer products such as laptops, mobile phones, televisions,[30] and solar panel receivers.[31] The company has also shown how the technology can be used to power soldiers' helmets with night-vision goggles wirelessly during Humvee transportation.[32] Dell's 2017 launch of the laptop-tablet Latitude 7285 marked the first commercial consumer product to use the technology.[3]

In 2018, BMW's 530e iPerformance became the first vehicle factory equipped with wireless charging,[33] and Hyundai's Kona also demonstrated use of the technology.[10] In January 2019, Honda and WiTricity demonstrated wireless vehicle-to-grid charging at the Consumer Electronics Show.[33] The technology was also being used for the McLaren Speedtail Hyper-GT by 2020.[19] [34] In May 2020, China published their national standard for EV wireless charging which incorporated WiTricity's technology,[35] [36] and WiTricity played a key role in establishing SAE International's J2954 standard for wireless power transfer.[34] [37]

In 2022, WiTricity received a $50,000 grant from the Michigan Mobility Funding Platform and the State of Michigan to install a wireless charging station at the Detroit Smart Parking Lab, operated by the American Center for Mobility.[38] [39]

The 2022 Hyundai Genesis GV60 uses wireless charging hardware by WiTricity.[40] [41] [42]

In 2022, WiTricity licensed its technology with Wiferion, which develops wireless charging systems for industrial applications such as automated guided vehicles, cobots, and trucks.[43] [44]

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Markowitz . Eric . All of the Electric Power with None of the Wires: If WiTricity succeeds in developing its technology, the future of electricity could be bright--and wireless. . . February 25, 2021 . April 18, 2013.
  2. Sullivan . Mark . The Little Company That's Bringing Wireless Charging To Electric Cars . . February 27, 2018 . February 26, 2021.
  3. News: Engel . Jeff Bauter . Dell Wirelessly Charging PC Marks WiTricity's First Consumer Device . February 25, 2021 . . July 11, 2017.
  4. Frizell . Sam . So Long, Charging Cables: Wireless Power Is Coming . . June 4, 2014 . February 26, 2021.
  5. News: Lai . R. . Intel's cable-free future will use WiTricity's advanced wireless charging . February 25, 2021 . . June 11, 2014.
  6. News: Hanley . Steve . A Conversation With WiTricity CEO Alex Gruzen — #CleanTechnica Exclusive . February 25, 2021 . . February 17, 2019.
  7. News: A Future of Gadgets without Power Cords? Not So Fast . March 11, 2021 . . July 21, 2017 . WBUR-FM.
  8. News: Mearian . Lucas . Wireless charging explained: What is it and how does it work? . March 11, 2021 . . March 28, 2018.
  9. Web site: Members List. Wireless Power Consortium.
  10. News: Woyke . Elizabeth . Future robo-taxis could charge themselves and help balance the electric grid . February 25, 2021 . . September 18, 2018.
  11. News: Motavalli . Jim . WiTricity Takes Its Car-Charging Technology Out for a Road Test . February 26, 2021 . . July 25, 2012.
  12. Web site: Delony . Jennifer . Wireless Charging Seen as a Game Changer for EV Infrastructure . . . March 30, 2021 . April 12, 2018.
  13. Web site: Ten Winners of The New Energy Pioneers Unveiled at Bloomberg New Energy Finance Summit in New York City . Bloomberg New Energy Finance . March 30, 2021 . April 9, 2018.
  14. News: Freeman . Mike . WiTricity acquires assets of Qualcomm wireless electric vehicle charging group . February 26, 2021 . . February 12, 2019.
  15. Maffei . Lucia . MIT, WiTricity file patent suit against Pa. tech company . . December 10, 2020 . February 25, 2021 . American City Business Journals.
  16. News: InductEV Successfully Defends Mission-Critical Patents.
  17. News: Kirsner . Scott . Toyota makes multi-million-dollar investment in WiTricity Corp., developer of wireless car-charging technology . February 26, 2021 . . April 27, 2011.
  18. News: Sawers . Paul . WiTricity acquires Qualcomm Halo to accelerate wireless charging for electric vehicles . February 25, 2021 . . February 11, 2019.
  19. Web site: Kane . Mark . WiTricity Raises $34 Million To Expand Wireless EV Charging . InsideEVs . . March 30, 2021 . November 4, 2020.
  20. News: Walrath . Rowan . VC funding update: Boston startups and tech firms raised $2.3B in February . April 2, 2021 . BostInno . The Business Journals . March 2, 2021.
  21. News: The Station: Lucid Motors, Joby Aviation take the SPAC path and Sergey Brin's airship ambitions . March 1, 2021 . Kirsten . Korosec . April 2, 2021 . TechCrunch.
  22. Web site: EV charging startup WiTricity raises $63M . August 9, 2022 . . Megan . Hernbroth . subscription . https://web.archive.org/web/20220812080926/https://www.axios.com/pro/climate-deals/2022/08/09/ev-charging-startup-witricity-raises-63m-siemens . August 12, 2022 . live.
  23. Web site: Bates . Michael . Siemens Acquires Stake in WiTricity to Drive EV Wireless Charging Innovation . NGT News: Next-Gen Transportation . June 9, 2022 . June 9, 2022.
  24. Web site: Volkswagen Sells Siemens Minority Stake in Electrify America . June 28, 2022 . . Gabrielle . Coppola . Monica . Raymunt . Wilfried . Eckl-Dorna . subscription . https://archive.today/20220816035815/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-06-28/volkswagen-nears-10-stake-sale-in-electrify-america-to-siemens . August 16, 2022 . live.
  25. News: Talbot . David . Wireless Charging Is Actually Charging Ahead . February 25, 2021 . MIT Technology Review . May 13, 2016.
  26. Mearian . Lucas . Toyota signs wireless charging deal with WiTricity . Computerworld . December 5, 2013 . February 26, 2021 . November 30, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221130143535/https://www.computerworld.com/article/2486514/toyota-signs-wireless-charging-deal-with-witricity.html . dead .
  27. Web site: Kane . Mark . Zhejiang VIE to Use WiTricity Wireless Charging in China . InsideEVs . April 2, 2021 . March 29, 2019.
  28. Web site: McMahan . Scott . WiTricity and Qualcomm Partner on Halo Wireless EV Charging . EE Power . April 16, 2021 . February 11, 2019.
  29. Mearian . Lucas . Intel plans to team up with WiTricity on wireless charging . Computerworld . June 11, 2014 . March 11, 2021.
  30. News: Glass . Nick . Ponsford . Matthew . Wireless electricity? It's here . February 26, 2021 . . March 28, 2014.
  31. Mearian . Lucas . Power play: Wireless charging at a distance arrives . Computerworld . October 13, 2021 . March 11, 2021.
  32. News: Low . Aloysius . Dell laptops coming soon with WiTricity wireless charging . March 12, 2021 . . . June 2, 2016.
  33. News: Szatkowski . Danielle . WiTricity acquires Qualcomm's EV charging unit . February 25, 2021 . . February 11, 2019.
  34. News: Phelan . Mark . This new feature is about to make electric cars way easier to use . March 30, 2021 . . November 28, 2020.
  35. News: Dasgupta . Sabyasachi . Wireless charging for electric vehicles could soon be a reality . March 11, 2021 . . May 11, 2020.
  36. News: Wood . Charlie . Researchers work on the next generation of wireless charging for electric vehicles and mobile devices . February 26, 2021 . . June 8, 2020.
  37. Web site: Hanley . Steve . SAE Publishes New Wireless Charging Standard . CleanTechnica . March 30, 2021 . November 5, 2020.
  38. Web site: Fine . Ariana . WiTricity Wins EV Wireless Charging Grant for Detroit Smart Parking Lab . Next-Gen Transportation . 18 March 2022 . June 14, 2022.
  39. Web site: Stone . Tom . State of Michigan announces grants to create a more accessible and electrified mobility future . Traffic Technology Today . June 14, 2022 . March 20, 2022.
  40. Web site: Reyes . Alvin . 2022 Genesis GV60 Could Be The First EV To Have Wireless Inductive Charging . Slash Gear . 24 August 2021 . June 9, 2022.
  41. Web site: Ramsey . Jonathon . Genesis GV60 to gain wireless charging capability . Autoblog . June 9, 2022.
  42. Web site: Kane . Mark . Genesis GV60 Gets Factory-Installed Wireless Charging Option . InsideEVs . June 9, 2022 . October 6, 2021.
  43. Web site: Wiferion Enters into License Agreement with WiTricity for Industrial Wireless Charging Applications . . July 28, 2022 . July 26, 2022.
  44. Web site: Global license agreement for Wiferion . Handling and Storage Solutions . July 28, 2022 . July 26, 2022.

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