The long-held dream of wireless power transmission is being realized on a large scale and over long distances, and even in the field of wireless charging of electric Car, several pilot projects for automatic wireless charging of vehicles while driving on the road or while parked are being tested and possibly They will also be very productive.
Wireless electricity is a hundred-year-old dream that can be realized in the years to come. The advent of wireless charging technology, electric vehicles, and 5G Internet, and the need for more sustainable energy, have accelerated wireless transmission technology around the world.
There are many companies operating in this field, including America’s Wave Inc and the Japanese company Space Power Technologies, and an energy startup in New Zealand called Emrod. کرد. Many companies are currently working on a power transmission technology project.
Thanks to field experiments, several systems have been designed and developed for this purpose; But we need to see which of these companies can outperform other similar companies and, for the first time, create an efficient, cost-effective and economical system with commercial viability and the ability to grow and develop.
History of wireless power transmission
Before examining the innovative methods and technologies that have been fully wired and transmitted with the aim of transmitting electricity, let us see when the starting point for the formation of this idea goes back and see what potential capabilities this conceptual idea has that has attracted the attention of researchers. It turns out to be a reliable way to transmit electricity in the years to come.
In 1891, the American-Serbian scientist Nikola Tesla designed a unique system called the Tesla coil. This particular device worked on the principles of a special type of resonant circuit that was capable of wireless power transmission; Of course, this winding system could only transmit power wirelessly over short distances; Therefore, due to its limitations, it could not attract people’s attention and become an efficient system for wireless power transmission.
But Tesla did not give up and still dreamed of wireless power transmission; So a few years later he tried to work on the building he had built as an energy source that could transmit high-voltage electricity wirelessly. His goal in his experiment was to transmit messages wirelessly over long distances, using a series of towers created in strategic spatial positions or a system of suspended balloons.
He developed a wireless transmission system on Long Island called the Tesla or Wardenclyffe Tower, which he believed could be used to transmit power over long distances wirelessly, but unfortunately the investor of his experiments, Jeep Morgan. , Refused to spend more on the project, so the project was stopped and the building built in 1906 was demolished.
Nikola Tesla died in 1943 and his dream of wireless power transmission did not come true; Fortunately, over the past hundred years, much research has been done to prove the great scientist’s claim that it is possible to use the earth instead of wire as a medium for wireless power transmission.
Today, various methods have been developed for wireless power transmission, and research in this area is entering extensive implementation phases.
Transmission of electricity using solar satellites
In this method, which is one of the possible and promised methods for wireless transmission of electricity, solar satellites that are in Earth orbit are used. After receiving sunlight, these satellites convert it into a type of energy that consists of microwaves.
These microwaves are then connected to the ground antenna or directly to the power grid itself. In the next step, the received waves are transferred to the central power grid, where they are converted to DC electricity, and finally the generated electricity is converted into energy packages that can be easily transferred to homes and stored in an energy storage source.
According to information published on a site called Cal, a member of the board of directors of this site, Donald Bren, the owner of Irvine Company, a real estate investment company, plans to spend $ 100 million in the future on Caltech’s Space Solar Power Project. Invest in Space Solar Power Project) or SSPP.
The purpose of this ambitious project is to create a system consisting of a solar satellite and a system that receives microwaves and converts them into electrical energy that can always provide the power needed anywhere on the planet.
Transmission of electricity using microwaves
In this method, the microwaves are converted into usable electrical current during irradiation using a microwave receiver and a DC rectifier (a device that converts alternating current to direct current).
The highest efficiency of electricity generation using microwaves is 84%. This record was set in 1975 by a Japanese group; The higher the system power output, the lower the system efficiency.
The next goal is to create a system for wireless power transmission over long distances. In a study published at the University of Tsukuba in August, Japan unveiled a system for emitting high-energy microwaves that could also be used as an efficient and reliable wireless power source for launching rockets into space. To be placed.
90% of the weight of rockets launched into space is the weight of their fuel tank, which can be removed from the rockets by using wireless power transmission technology based on the use of microwave energy, which is a major change in their construction.
Laser wireless power transmission
Research has shown that solid-state laser diodes, which act just like diodes used in fiber optics and outdoor laser communications, are the most efficient DC-to-laser DC converters. In a laser power transmission system, a photovoltaic receiver is used to receive the laser beams and generate electricity using the beams. One of the great advantages of laser power generation and its wireless transmission is the possibility of easier control of laser beams when transmitting power over long distances.
New Zealand dreams of wireless power transmission
Emrood Energy startup will soon test the prototype of the infrastructure used for the wireless transmission system in New Zealand. In this system, Emroud has designed a remote energy transfer technology in which a wireless network of antennas and power rectifiers (antenna rectifiers) are used to transfer energy in the form of electromagnetic waves from one point to another. In this method, electricity is transmitted using antennas in the form of non-ionic rays with a frequency equal to the frequency of radio waves.
According to company officials, ensuring the high safety of low-energy lasers has convinced researchers that the laser beams are extinguished and extinguished before hitting objects or flying birds; Therefore, it can be said with certainty that the laser beams do not come into contact with any object or bird other than air.
Amrud officials also claim that this technology is a very suitable method for wireless transmission of electricity in New Zealand, which is a mountainous country, and can be resistant to different climatic conditions in different parts of the world. This technology is based on rectification and conversion of alternating current to direct current. This technology can also be very useful for supplying electricity to areas where it is not possible to build a power grid due to financial or geographical conditions.
Although the New Zealand government has also backed Emrood’s wireless transmission project, Greg Kushnir, the startup’s CEO, predicts that in the future, people are just as skeptical about wireless transmission technology as they are about 5G technology. Look hesitantly. According to him, the most important challenge facing Emrd is to reassure people that the laser beams are safe in the system used by this startup.
Amrd also has an office in Boston, so it is very likely that the company’s next project for wireless power transmission will be in the United States.
Introducing several other innovative technologies for wireless power transmission
With the beginning of the 2020s of the 21st century, the demand and, of course, the need to achieve clean and unlimited energy production methods has increased. Creating effective and efficient methods for wireless power transmission instead of using the old and conventional methods of power transmission can be a great change in the field of clean energy production.
Here are some ways to transfer power wirelessly.
Wave, or Wireless Advanced Vehicle Electrification (WAVE), is an American technology company active in the production and design of tools for the wireless transmission of electricity to low-consumption and high-consumption vehicles. The use of charging systems designed by this company is also available under the passages of cars, such as parking lots and roads, and they can transfer one megawatt of electricity without the need for wires.
Reports suggest that Tesla may also use Wave’s induction-wireless charging system to power its new electric truck, the Semi truck.
The non-profit Beyond Earth Research Institute plans to create a fully efficient system for wireless power transmission based on the use of solar satellites. Officials at the institute claim that the system, in addition to powering various industries on Earth, could also be used to provide energy needed for human activities on the moon.
The system introduced by Beyond Earth consists of two parts: the first part of a space satellite that receives sunlight and performs exactly the same process to convert solar energy into electricity as photovoltaic solar panels, solar energy focusing systems, and units. A subset of the wireless power transmission system occurs. The second part is the receiver, which after receiving the produced energy, sends it to the desired parts of the planet Earth and the moon, which need energy, according to the officials of the institute, the process of construction and completion of this system will be completed by 2030.
The Indiana Department of Transportation, in partnership with Purdue University and a German cement company called Magment, is testing a project to build a magnetic concrete road on which cars move. , Be charged wirelessly automatically.
In the first phase of this research project, Pardew University will examine whether this road is stable or not through laboratory studies. When approved by university researchers, the 400-meter-long test roads will be built with Magnet Company-produced magnetic cement and will be tested to charge 200-kilowatt trucks.
If the test road is successful, the US government will use the technology on public roads. This land-based wireless charging project is part of the innovative ASPIRE project. The word ASPIRE stands for Advancing Sustainability through Power Infrastructure for Road Electrification. The National Science Foundation and many other private and public institutions have supported the project.
The American company WiTricity is also working on a special technology that allows it to be charged using magnetic detection circuits when cars are parked in a certain place.
If wireless power transmission technology is combined with the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence, there will undoubtedly be amazing technologies in the future that can take humans into the world of amazing new technology; One of these technologies, for example, is the smart wireless charging introduced by the Motorola brand. According to Motorola, this method no longer requires the use of a wireless charger pad to charge phones or similar devices, and these devices can be charged even with a distance of about 9 meters from the charger between 5 and 10 watts without any problems.
