Near-field communication (NFC) is a wireless charging technology that is capturing various markets with great momentum. It can be implemented across numerous industries, ranging from warehousing and logistics to healthcare and finances. A key benefit of NFC is its design, which has antenna dimensions of just around 1 sq cm area, making it ideal for products requiring low power. NFC wireless charging (NFC WLC) uses wireless energy harvesting for the low end of the power spectrum to charge smaller IoT and wearable devices.

Not only does it power your device more conveniently than ever, but NFC WLC also makes charging more flexible, gives designers new ways to make their products more streamlined, and helps manufacturers simplify production and lower costs.

NFC-driven wireless charging is designed for flexibility, with two ways to charge your device. You can use fast charging, which delivers a quick charge using the in-box charger supplied with your device, or can use NFC charging, which delivers a slower charge- from another NFC device (e.g. smartphone) that is enabled for both NFC communication and wireless charging.

NFC WLC delivers unprecedented convenience. A small amount of energy, sent via NFC by another device, slowly recharges the device’s battery. It’s a concept borrowed from automotive, where car owners use trickle chargers to maintain their car’s battery while it’s in storage or slowly bring a dead car battery back to life.

Now, with NFC WLC, the idea of “low and slow” charging makes it easier to get a top-up, since you can get a recharge from just about any NFC-enabled small battery-powered portable device that is enabled for both traditional NFC communication and charging and you’re likely to already have it with you. 

NFC provides the right power level for small, battery-operated applications, such as earbuds, fitness trackers, electric toothbrushes and IoT products. This latest technology is environment-friendly and efficient.

According to the NFC Forum, The NFC WLC technology can currently deliver a charging speed of up to 2W. Further advancement and innovation can exceed these power limits by a few more watts in the coming years.

The major advantage here is that NFC technology uses a single antenna unlike the relatively large coils used in Qi wireless chargers to charge a device which is ideal for small wearable devices.

Adoption into a universal standard will likely prove to be a real benefit for NFC wireless power, especially if manufacturers begin to move away from proprietary solutions to allow for cross-compatibility

As the number of IoT devices proliferates, whether that’s smart fitness trackers, headphones, smart tags, a smartwatch, digital stylus, smart glasses, smart rings, or even small battery-powered devices there is an associated cost of adding a charger and a cable into the box for each device. Using a wireless charging solution instead would save the expense of a cable and charger. research supports that charging multiple devices individually is less efficient than charging several devices in parallel on a single charger.

Another bonus of NFC-driven wireless power: it’s good for product developers and manufacturers, too, not just consumers. Developers can be more creative with their designs since they’re not hampered by the limitations of plugs or pogo pins.

Products can be more streamlined, since they don’t require sockets for plugging in, and can be entirely sealed, so they’re resistant to water or dirt and can cope with intensive cleaning and sterilization cycles. Having a hermetically sealed electronic design opens up new options in exercise, personal care, medical, and industrial applications.

There is a lot of scope for NFC Charging beyond the current adoption of wireless headphones and earbuds, digital stylus pens, and wearables. Chances are, if it’s small and can benefit from power and data, it’s a possible fit.

The overall shipments of NFC-enabled devices exceed one billion units and the market is expected to continue growing over the next decade, reaching over two billion devices within a couple of years.

A big reason why NFC and WPC’s Qi/Qi2 are poised for such strong growth is that they both have strong industry backing and standards organizations guiding their development. Qi and Qi2 are governed by the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC), while NFC WLC is overseen by the NFC Forum.

Both these industry-standard bodies are supported by market leaders and technology experts who contribute their know-how and industry influence to garner support for wireless charging applications and expand the market.

The global wireless charging market is segmented on the basis of technology, industry vertical, and region. By technology, it is fragmented into inductive, resonant, NFC WLC, radio frequency, and other segments. The inductive wireless charging segment dominated the wireless charging market in terms of units and revenue and is expected to follow the same trend during the forecast period.

With NFC technology penetrating most industry verticals, its demand will only increase in the coming years.

For more detailed data, insights, and trends in the wireless power market, kindly refer to WAWT’s most comprehensive research on the wireless power industry, delivered through its subscription-based Wireless Power Intelligence Service, which extensively covers WAWT research solutions are designed to help companies across the supply chain understand the market dynamics and identify the trends to strategize product development and marketing as well as to take the uncertainty out of it.