Sustainable Initiatives
Less e-waste and more efficient energy transmission
Wi-Charge's mission is to allow smart devices to gain access to limitless power while eliminating power chords and dying batteries. By doing so, not only are we eliminating the e-waste associated with wires and batteries, but we are also enabling a way of powering technology that saves the wasted energy that is used in the process of manufacturing batteries.
Cleaner power.
Smarter machines.
Global demand for batteries is growing faster than ever at a rate of nearly 15% per year, since batteries are an integral part of clean energy.
But they are also the
#1 Polluter on the planet.
Every Wi-Charge wireless transmitter eliminates 5,000 batteries.
Delivering a cleaner, brighter planet.
Why replace primary batteries with wireless power?
Wireless power can often replace primary batteries as the main energy source of products, such as IOT, electronic door locks, faucets, security cameras, and other electronic devices. Besides the obvious advantages of endless supply of power (saving on manpower and hassle), wireless power also improves the energy efficiency of delivering power to the end device.
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A good example is replacing alkaline AA batteries with an R1 transmitter. An R1 transmitter saves up to 1000 AA alkaline batteries per year, supplying the same energy without the hassle of replacing the batteries and with much less energy waste.
What is the efficiency of a battery?
A good Alkaline battery can deliver 700-2500mAh at 1.5Volts (depending on usage conditions), or 3700-13500 joules of energy before it has to be replaced. Typically, however, batteries are replaced and end up in landfills before the end of their useful life.
The worst part about batteries that die prematurely is the waste of precious metals that are used to make them. As sing AA battery weighs 23 grams and is composed of the following materials (partial list). The table also lists the energy required to produce those materials called embodied energy (which would be the same for all applications using the same materials).
Material | Mass | Embodied energy per Kg (MJ/Kg) | Embodied energy in battery (Joules) |
|---|---|---|---|
Zinc | 3.68 gram | 52 | 191,360 |
Manganese Dioxide | 8.51 gram | 7.8 | 66,378 |
Carbon | 0.92 gram | 45.8 | 42,136 |
Potassium Hydroxide | 3.91 gram | 19.2 | 75,072 |
Nickel Plated Steel | 3.91 gram | 38 | 148,580 |
Brass | 0.46 gram | 62 | 28,520 |
Plastics | 0.23 gram | 90 | 20,700 |
Total | 21.6 gram | 572,746 Joule |
As can be seen from the table above, just the energy used to manufacture the materials needed for a single battery (excluding the manufacturing of the battery itself, packaging, shipping, etc.) require 40X-150X times more energy than the energy actually stored in the battery. The real energy required to produce a single battery is most likely at least 2X higher.
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Taking into account the whole manufacturing process, the energy efficiency of delivering energy via batteries is around 1.3%. In addition, the energy required to deliver the battery to the actual product brings the efficiency of batteries to ~0.3-0.5%.
A more in depth life cycle analysis of AA Alkaline batteries can be found here.
AirCord Carbon Footprint
Wi-Charge 1st Gen:
-86% for IoT & EdgeComputer
Wi-Charge 2nd and 3rd Gen:
-57% for mobile
-85% for Electric Vehicles