
CES 2021 in its virtual format have been a quite silent event compared to CES 2020 which saw around 200,000 participants attending the event in person. Saying so there have been many news and announcements across various segments of technology market – be it introduction of innovative cool concepts, product launches, advancement of existing or development of new technologies.
The CES 2021 activities were centered around following Themes:
- Digitalisation – fastest ever shift and growth towards use of digital technology
- Electrification – demand boost for EVs and bringing the future plans forward.
- Covidification – introduction of new use-cases and new products now relevant in this COVID pandemic situation.
Focussing on the wireless power technology market, we saw some key developments and announcements made by companies across the ecosystem. Some, but not all are listed below:
Company and product specific trends
- Renesas unveils world’s first 60Wwireless power receiver to deliver faster wireless charging experience for mobile devices such as smartphones, laptops and notebooks, all integrated into one single chip.
- Lenovo introduces a wireless charging mat for its latest laptop using Energysquare’s ‘Power-By-Contact’ technology which complements the advanced wireless power technology.
- Powermat partners with Jetsons Robotics to introduce wireless charging technology for its industrial robots.
- Medigus enters Wireless Electric Vehicle Charging (WEVC) market with a new autonomous robotic wireless charging technology.
- Energous and American Equus announce world’s first wirelessly charged equine health tracking sensor after completing trials.
- Panasonic debuts with an innovative wireless phone car charger with a moving coil at CES 2021.
- In lines with the latest trend towards ‘fast’ wireless charging, OnePlus 9 Pro supported by 45W wireless charging was launched. Similarly, 50W ‘fast’ wireless charger from Honor V40 gets certified by TÜV Rheinland.
- Powermat unveiled ‘through-the-wall’ mid-range 50W wireless charging solution focusing on 5G/Telecom and IoT applications.
- Kew Labs introduces invisible wireless charging solution mounted below the surface.
- Energous announced its RF-based WattsUp ‘distance’ wireless power solution for military applications.
Product innovations, concepts and other trend news
- Swedish micro e-mobility startup Voi partners with Bumblebee for wireless charging of its fleets of e-scooters and e-bikes.
- Voice Life Inc. showcases Far Field Wireless Charging System (FFWCS) using NVIDIA’s Deep Learning Accelerator (DVLA) technology at CES 2021 Showcase.
- Russian startup, Reasonance demonstrates a wireless charging-enabled TV prototype using magnetic resonance technology, at CES 2021.
- Japanese research team demonstrates transfer of wireless power and data through the seawater.
- Another groundbreaking research in the UK to test wireless EV charging while they are on the go, on the road.
- Powercast wins 2021 BIG Innovation Award for is wirelessly powered RFID Temperature Scanning System.
- Motherson and Aira announce a strategic partnership to develop FreePower® wireless charging solution for automotive ‘in-cabin’ market.
- Ideanomics acquires WAVE, a Utah-based wireless charging solutions provider for commercial EVs.
- Norway explores wireless ‘dynamic’ charging of EVs on the road.
Broad industry and technology specific trends
- Few Automotive OEMs announced adoption of wireless EV charging (WEVC) solutions for some of their upcoming models.
- Market is witnessing usage of more and more proprietary solutions across applications.
- Companies shifting focus sales of commodity (coils, antenna, ICs) to complete System-On-Chip (SoC) and Wireless Power Modules. Emergence of total solution providers.
- Market in need of interoperability across power classes -Low vs Medium vs High Power classes.
- Market is expected to see some good level of momentum across emerging applications i.e. laptops, WEVC, e-bikes/e-scooters, cordless kitchen appliances, medical, industrial, RF, Resonance, and medium-priced mobiles starting to adopt wireless power.
- WAWT speculates possible emergence of another wireless power solution/specs with the aim of becoming an industry standard.
To summarise, from wireless power technology market perspective, Year 2021 is set to be:
i) All about survival and implementation
ii) Key for Long ‘Distance charging’ market
iii) Introduction and growth of proprietary solutions
iv) Adoption of wireless power technology across wider applications much beyond mobile phones, and
v) Introduction of a new wireless power technology solution by either a major Tier 1 company or group of them.
vi) Activities would be across and between Western and Asian players.
Wired & Wireless Technology (WAWT) is the leading and most trustworthy research and insights provider on the wireless power technology market.