Wireless electricity for the masses could become a reality thanks to Kiwi startup
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- 31 May 2022
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Wireless electricity may sound like science fiction - but the founder of a Kiwi startup says one day it may be as common as receiving a text.
The technology could allow remote areas like Stewart Island to receive electricity from the mainland, or a homeowner in Germany to buy New Zealand electricity.
About 15 minutes from New Plymouth, Auckland-based startup Emrod, with the support of NZ’s future energy centre, Ara Ake, and Powerco, has begun construction on its first outdoor demonstration site for wireless power-beaming technology.
Electricity will be converted into an electromagnetic beam between two antennas a few hundred metres apart at the site which is expected to be running by the end of June.
The exact location of the site is being kept under wraps, as is the amount being invested in it.
CEO and founder Greg Kushnir said power beaming has been around since the days of Nikola Tesla, an inventor born in the 1850s.
“Tesla introduced it to the world, but the technology wasn't quite there. The vision was there, but not the ability to execute it.
“What has changed significantly in that regard is readily available computation power, and the materials we can come up with, build and manipulate.”
He said the biggest driver of power beaming is the current economic conditions – and the focus on transitioning to sustainable energy.
Kushnir said they had a “ton of interest” from all over the world – including oil and gas, mining, space, and government sectors. Read More…
