Energous at-a-Distance Wireless Charging Certification Called 'Groundbreaking'

Shares in wireless charging company Energous soared 168 percent Wednesday, closing at $23.70, after Tuesday’s announcement the company received FCC certification of its first-generation mid-field transmitter that sends focused, RF-based power to devices at distances up to three feet.

Energous CEO Stephen Rizzone focused on the precedent set by the FCC’s approval rather than charging distance, on a Wednesday call with analysts. An ebullient Rizzone said the certification “launches a new era for both wireless charging and the electronics industry as a whole.” The precedent is now open for any device that transmits at greater than 5 millimeters “at any power or any distance as long as it meets the stipulations of the testing requirements” of the certification, he said. Prior to the certification, there was no path to testing such products, he said.

Former FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell, now a partner at Cooley law firm, addressed analysts on the call before prepared remarks, saying Energous achieved something “truly revolutionary and historic” in the wireless charging field. The company received certification “within the existing Federal Communications Commission regulations governing health and safety,” said McDowell, noting test results were successful over months of rigorous testing. The “groundbreaking” technology has the potential to “improve the human condition in ways we cannot imagine,” McDowell said, calling it a “historic day” in “humans’ use of radio frequency energy.”

Energous' WattUp mid-field transmitter is the first Part 18 FCC-approved power-at-a-distance wireless charging transmitter, and it paves the way for future wireless charging for small devices, including smartphones, tablets, fitness trackers, smart watches, earbuds, wireless keyboards and mice, and smart speakers, said the company.

The certification could broaden IoT functionality, expand possibilities in the medical device market and it “advances the potential for any technology that requires batteries to operate,” said Rizzone, referencing the launch of “wireless charging 2.0.” WattUp solutions, coupled with Energous’ near-field technology, extend from contact wireless charging to distance charging “using the same silicon and supporting technologies,” he said. Any smart home, IoT or mobile device is a target for WattUp technology, he said.

The certification is the first awarded to any device that charges wirelessly at a distance, and it operates under Part 18 of the FCC's rules that permit higher-power operations than are permitted under the Part 15 rules that have been used to approve other at a distance charging devices, Energous said. Certification confirms that WattUp technology is “safe and complies with the existing regulatory rules and regulations,” Rizzone said. He claimed WattUp technology is safer than many devices now in use.

Certification and safety have been huge question marks for the company, which began working on WattUp technology in 2013. Rizzone cited market skepticism over whether Energous would be able to “certify RF beamforming-based power-at-a-distance technology” under existing Part 18 rules. The FCC certification indicates WattUp “meets the current regulatory health and safety guidelines established by the [Food and Drug Administration] and enforced by the FCC,” said Rizzone.

Rizzone focused on the precedent set by the certification, which he said “clears a path” for wireless at-a-distance transmitting devices “at any distance greater than 5 millimeters” at “greater or lower power,” but distances can range from a few inches to 15 feet or more, he said. He called the engineering and applications possibilities “endless.” In the domestic market, the precedent will be used as a reference for the criteria and test procedures to be used for WattUp-enabled consumer devices from Energous customers and “other wireless companies seeking certification,” Rizzone said. It also could be used as a starting point for certification processes in international markets, he said.

The certification process wasn’t designed to certify a device with certain specifications, Rizzone said, but to set a precedent for testing. Power, functionality and scale of products will evolve and improve over time, he said.

Three criteria were required to move forward with certification of a WattUp device, said Jeff McNeil, Energous senior vice president-operations and regulatory. The power in the device had to be locally generated and used; the technology had to be demonstrated to be safe; and the device had to meet all other FCC rules and requirements, McNeil said. Part 18 covers industrial, scientific and medical devices that use RF energy for purposes other than communication, McNeil said. Qi inductive wireless charging pads fall into the category, he said.

To meet the criterion of being locally generated and used, Energous demonstrated that its at-a-distance transmitter would request and receive a charge only in a defined space or charging area and that the RF energy is focused on a receiver in a pocket, McNeil said.

The measure for safety was a specific absorption rate (SAR) that met existing requirements, McNeil said. Energous, along with industry experts, determined that the SAR measurement procedures defined in standards used to certify cellphone base stations applied to the tested WattUp device. Energous made sure the first certification “was well below the regulatory limit of 1.6 watt per kilogram,” said McNeil. The worst-case measurement was less than 1 watt per kilogram, he said.

On meeting other Part 18 rules requirements, McNeil said there’s no limit to the power that can be transmitted in the ISM band, but strict rules govern emissions outside of the ISM band known as spurious and harmonics emissions. It’s a “significant engineering challenge to be able to pass the harmonics and spurious emissions while transferring significant power to a receiver,” and one that Energous engineers passed with ample margin, he said.

Having the testing procedures in place ensures that Energous partners working on incorporating at-a-distance wireless RF charging into products will have accepted testing procedures that are “public and straightforward to follow,” McNeil said.

Energous used one of its early devices over 18 months to get certification, not to get a commercialized version from one of its customers approved, said Rizzone. Distances are roughly 3 feet and the power “is not that significant,” he said. The focus wasn’t on gaining power and distance, he said, but to set the precedent. With that in place, now any device -- sending at 5 millimeters, 1 foot, 2 feet or 15 feet or more -- at any power level, “as long as it meets the requirements that have been established for health and safety, it can now be certified,” he said.

Energous’ first devices to market will be contact-based and will begin testing in the next few weeks, with several showing at CES, said Rizzone. Some devices will hit stores in Q1, a quarter later than the company projected, due to engineering challenges, he said. At-a-distance devices charging at more than 5 millimeters will begin to roll out at the end of 2018, he said. The certification process initially will likely take several months, said Rizzone.

The FCC had no comment Wednesday.