or many years companies have been investigating the possibility of powering and charging electronic devices without the use of interconnecting wires. Various techniques have been developed, though for a long time these were adopted only by niche applications. A good example of this is the charging of electric toothbrushes. Though most consumers may not have realized, the majority of rechargeable battery power toothbrushes use wireless inductive power transfer between two coils, to recharge the battery. According to recent analysis from IMS Research, the use of wireless power and charging is no longer limited to these niche applications and the market for this technology is set for dramatic changes over the next few years.

During 2009 there was significant activity in the wireless power market as the technology became targeted at mainstream applications. Perhaps some of the most notable were from Palm which released its Touchstone™ inductive charger for use with its Palm Pre handset via an add-on battery case, Dell which released its Latitude Z notebook which has integrated wireless charging capability using Fulton Innovation’s inductive technology and Powermat which released a range of inductive chargers and sleeves/cases which when added to portable applications, enables them to be charged wirelessly. Though other wire-free power and charging technologies exist and are being offered (such as conductive, RF and infrared), there is currently a larger industry focus on inductive technology, with many new start-ups appearing on the market and major OEMs now investigating the technologies.

Wireless power and charging offers a universal solution to consumers, allowing them to power or charge multiple applications, whilst only having one charger connected to a power source. Many wireless power solutions also offer greater intelligence than a traditional wired charger enabling them to switch off when they are not charging, eliminating the vampire effect . They can also achieve close to zero standby power when no load is connected.

IMS Research’s recently released report, “The Growth Potential for Wireless Power & Charging”, projects that the number of equipment enabled with wireless power will grow five-fold in 2010 and will continue to grow to almost one billion in 2019. This explosive growth is predicted to be driven largely by adoption of the technology in cell phones, though IMS Research believes that there are some key industry hurdles which will need to be overcome in order for mass adoption.

Firstly, interoperability is one of the most important issues facing the industry. The ability to use enabled devices with any wireless charger, rather than a proprietary solution is imperative to fuel future adoption. The Wireless Power Consortium (WPC), a focus group made up of suppliers involved in the industry, has been working on an interoperability standard aimed at low power (5W and below) inductive charging for some time and is due to release version 1.0 of the standard shortly.

Secondly, the cost of implementation needs to be reduced to allow OEMs to integrate the technology into their products at a cost that consumers can bear in return for the benefits and convenience of the technology. Prices will of course fall as adoption increases, volumes rise, and more competition in the market emerges.

Thirdly, wireless power and charging solutions are not as efficient as wired solutions. The major emphasis on energy efficiency could present an issue for acceptance by some OEMs and consumers. There is a trade-off between the convenience to consumers and the reduced efficiency which will ultimately result in higher power consumption costs.

Finally, but perhaps most importantly, the health and safety unknowns surrounding the use of wireless power transfer technologies may initially discourage some consumers, which may hinder uptake and market growth.

Although almost all of the solutions currently available are aftermarket add-on solutions, IMS research predicts that major cell phone OEMs will soon begin integrating wireless power and charging capabilities into their products. This is projected to fuel adoption of integrated solutions into other applications and drive growth in the market.

Integrators of equipment such as furniture and vehicle interiors have also been working closely with wireless power and charging solution providers. They aim to integrate the technology into their products to create an attractive charging environment for consumers. For example, a desk with an integrated wireless charger that would be capable of charging a cell phone, notebook and other compatible electronic devices without plugging them in individually. IMS Research predicts that a level of infrastructure such as this will drive OEMs to adopt and integrate the technology and also drive more widespread consumer use.

The total opportunity for wireless power and charging is forecast to exceed $17 billion by 2019. Wireless power solution providers, power supply manufactures, OEMs, semiconductors and component suppliers and integrators are all well poised to take advantage of this.

Provided by Ryan Sanderson, Senior Market Analyst in IMS Research’s Power and Energy Group

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