WI-CHARGE: THE FUTURE OF POWER

Project Information

WI-CHARGE

Grant agreement ID: 190152266

DOI

10.3030/190152266

Project closed

EC signature date 22 June 2023

Start date 1 June 2022

End date 31 May 2024

Funded under

• The European Innovation Council (EIC)

Total cost

€ 5 512 250,00

EU contribution

€ 2 299 750,50

Coordinated by

WI-CHARGE LTD
Israel

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - WI-CHARGE (WI-CHARGE: THE FUTURE OF POWER)

Reporting period: 2023-06-01 to 2024-05-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Wi-Charge project received funding from the EIC to advance from TRL6 to TRL 7,8 namely productization and market validation of Wi-Charge’s wireless power technology.
Wi-Charge developed and patented a technology for wireless transfer of energy over distances of 10 meter and beyond, safely and efficiently.

Company's vision is to bring wireless power in line with wireless communications, enabling wireless electronic devices (sensors, home appliances, mobile devices, e-mobility) to remain powered at all times via a global wireless power infrastructure (akin to WiFi/5G communications infrastructure allowing devices to be online at all times).

The impact of wireless power infrastructure could be enormous, impacting 20+ billion wireless devices globally, dramatically changing the way people interact with technology, and perhaps most importantly - slashing major pollutants (batteries and cables) on a massive scale. Today, 20 billion batteries are swapped annually out of wireless devices just to keep them running. In addition, rechargeable devices are plugged in 1 trillion times every year and billions of charging adapters are thrown into landfills annually. Overall, huge maintenance and environmental burdens that are part and parcel of modern lifestyle.

Wi-Charge strives to change that dramatically. We estimate that global battery consumption could be reduced by up to 80% with the help of a global wireless power infrastructure, saving 20 million tons of carbon emissions annually.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

During the project execution, the company finalized the development (to the level required to perform pilot runs, e.g. TRL8) of the Wi-Charge transmitters and receivers as well as several end products (prototype of charging pad, game controller, toothbrush, faucets) and development of Wi-Spot screens, and successfully completed most of the necessary steps to achieve regulatory standards for CE marking.
This has been done in two steps, industrial design (which included also the internal parts of the products for the base system and some of the end products) followed by a detailed design to spec and cost and establishment of the necessary test and assembly manufacturing line for the base product and the Wi-Spot screen.

In parallel, the company developed the product business model and Go-to-Market in two main market segments:
1. Retail advertising.
2. Electronic door locks.

The company managed to successfully finalize the project and update the business plan, defining a clear path tp introduce the Wi-Charge technology and products in the market.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The company concluded successful pilots (including touchless faucets, screen for supermarkets and others) and is now planning the next steps in these markets with relevant partners from the value chain.
With regards to the smart shelf pilot planned, we encountered a very big demand in retail for Wi-Spots (our wirelessly powered screens), with a successful pilot, hence, we focused nearly all of our retail focus on Wi-Spot pilots.
The products are currently deployed in EU (Germany, Austria, Croatia) , US, Japan, Israel, South Korea, UK, Mexico, Canada, Puerto Rico & Brazil in various stages of pilot and lab testing.

Regarding IP, we continue filing of new applications monthly.

Wi-Charge systems around the world