Cutting the cord: Will Israel’s Wi-Charge transform the future of power?
In a world where wires still dominate the landscape of power transfer, a new revolution is quietly unfolding: wireless power transmission.
Imagine the convenience of charging your smartphone or electric toothbrush without ever needing to hunt for an outlet or untangle a mess of cords. Picture a digital display at the edge of a supermarket shelf, silently drawing power from what appears to be thin air to illuminate product details or sales.
This futuristic scenario is not just a figment of the imagination. It’s Wi-Charge.
Wi-Charge, founded a decade ago by Israeli technologists, has only recently started gaining traction. The company created what it calls “AirCord” technology, which lets you power devices from a distance. It uses infrared (IR) technology to send power wirelessly to various devices.
The Wi-Charge system works like this: Plug the transmitters into regular power outlets or track lighting. These transmitters change electricity into safe infrared beams. They then find the nearby devices and send them the infrared energy.
Each device needs a Wi-Charge receiver attached to it. These receivers catch the infrared beams and turn them back into electricity. This electricity charges up the device’s battery or a capacitor, which the device uses to power itself up.
One transmitter can cover an area of about 130 square meters. Moreover, gadgets can get way more power than they would from batteries alone – like 10 to 100 times more.
The founders of the company – Ori Mor, Ortal Alpert, and Victor Vaisleib – had a very successful history in Israel’s hi-tech industry before Wi-Charge. In addition to founding a SaaS mobile engagement platform acquired by Teradata, Mor spent 11 years in the Electronic Research and Development unit of the Israel Defense Forces. Alpert, who identified and developed the core technology behind Wi-Charge, founded an optical storage startup company and developed algorithms for companies traded on NASDAQ. Vaisleb is the founder of Passave, which was acquired by PMS-Sierra.
“We came to Wi-Charge from a place of innovations to solve complicated problems – of making the impossible possible,” Mor explained to The Jerusalem Post from his office in Tel Aviv.
However, Mor admitted that neither he nor Alpert had anticipated the challenges involved in developing wireless charging technology of this nature.
“Communication with wireless devices unleashed a $3 trillion industry and changed our lives forever. But there was just one thing: this annoying chord,” Mor said, holding a white charger in one hand. “It’s a hassle to charge. So, we decided to solve it.”
The team decided to develop the building blocks for the technology.
Mor said he wasn’t sure if it were “stupidity, naivety, or optimism” that got them started, but the journey turned out to be far more complex than they initially expected. It took them eight years of deep research and development. However, when they finally succeeded, they realized two things: First, they achieved their goal, and second, they were the only company worldwide that had done so.
Now, Wi-Charge can be found in devices in 10 countries, including powering advertising signs in retail stores, in Alfred intelligent door locks in residential buildings, in some touchless appliances in hotels, and soon to be implemented in other public spaces, office buildings, and hopefully homes. Wi-Charge is still not being used to charge cellular phones.
Mor explained that the technology is safe because the infrared is sent straight from the transmitter to the receiver in a focused beam. The power remains consistent no matter how far apart they are. Plus, it’s eco-friendly compared to other power sources, because it doesn’t flood the environment with unnecessary radiation.
Mor showed numerous videos of Wi-Charge’s system in action. He highlighted a particular device: an electric toothbrush charging station. Although these stations aren’t available for purchase, they were used to showcase the technology. Mor noted that they consistently generate excitement.
In recent months, the company received inquiries from more than one Fortune 10 company. Mor said he hopes the technology will expand to serve hundreds of applications across approximately 20 industries.
The company has been written up by major mainstream publications, including The Wall Street Journal and Wired.
Right now, getting the system would be like buying a Wi-Fi router. This means it’s a device you buy to provide a service, and it could add around $100 to the cost of any device using it. But, Mor imagines that within the next 10 years, Wi-Charge will be a standard part of home design.
Mor said his dream is “The light fixtures will be embedded with wireless charging. “When you build your house, the architect will ask how many wireless electricity points you want, just like they ask how many electricity points you want today.”
He said, “Once every 20 to 30 years, a new building block is thrown into the playground, and companies around it start to innovate products and services. This type of stuff can be a search engine, flat panel TV, a transistor, a ChatGPT, an mRNA, etc.
“The ability to power devices from a distance falls under this category,” Mor continued. “It’s new. It does not exist… And it is made in Israel.”