Energous Announces Wireless Charging Reference Design for 10-Watt Devices

Energous announced its latest wireless charging, Near Field WattUp, that's capable of charging devices with up to 10 watts of energy, it said in a Tuesday news release. That expands Energous’ wireless charging capabilities beyond wearables to smartphones, tablets, smart speakers, game controllers, drones and other similarly powered devices, it said. Extending the high-power charging capabilities enables “many different types of devices to be charged from multiple transmitter options,” said CEO Stephen Rizzone. By expanding its portfolio of reference designs, Energous can support customer requests for additional options and power levels, said Rizzone. Energous’ reference designs -- high-power, quick charging, low power, small form factor, mid-field and far-field power-at-a-distance -- give customers a single source to meet all their wireless charging requirements, said Mark Tyndall, senior vice president-corporate development and strategy at Dialog Semiconductor, an Energous investor and its manufacturing partner. Specs include GaN-based 5-10-watt RF receiver integrated circuit; GaN-based 10-15-watt RF power amplifier; RF-based charging allowing for full two-dimensional movement; support for 90-degree charging angles; small receiver size; and accommodation of metal and other foreign objects. On the company’s most recent earnings call, Rizzone said (see 1708100038) the company is on track to deliver its first commercial-scale quantities of silicon to small-scale, early adopter customers by year-end.