DARPA seeks to enable a near-instantaneous energy transport system for U.S. military operations with contested logistics and/or multi-domain operations. PowerLight laser power beaming technology is a key component.
August 22, 2023, Kent, WA – PowerLight Technologies, the leading developer of safe, long-distance wireless power beaming solutions for kilowatt class power levels over kilometers of distance, today announced it was selected to partner with several entities on the DARPA POWER (“Persistent Optical Wireless Energy Relay”) Program. Raytheon Technologies Corporation (RTX) was amongst those selected to lead first phase implementation of the POWER Program. POWER seeks to build an airborne energy relay system for high-altitude, long-range transmission of energy for global military operations with contested logistics and/or multi-domain operations. The relay system will generate power where it is safe and efficient to do so and, using ground-sourced lasers, safely distribute power through multiple airborne nodes back down to support US Joint Forces and allies operating around the world. PowerLight’s long-distance wireless power beaming technology will be a key component.
“There is no finer validation to the incredible technology we have built over the past ten plus years then being selected to partner with multiple solution providers in support of DARPA’s mission to build the next generation fuel supply system that will ensure and solidify military operations and security of the United States,” said Richard Gustafson, President and CEO of PowerLight. “Wireless Power Beaming provides a unique new capability that can more flexibly, efficiently, and effectively distribute energy to digital infrastructure where and when it’s required most, and where it may also have been previously impossible to distribute that energy any other way. The POWER Program will provide that new capability in support of US Military operations while commercialized power beaming solutions being tested today will increasingly support the rapidly growing, and power hungry, digital infrastructure that is being deployed globally as well.,” continued Gustafson.
The POWER Program endeavors to make the U.S. military less reliant on the quantity of fuel carried and eliminate the need for vulnerable power lines which are more apt to be compromised or detected by the enemy. A distributed, resilient, multi-input, multi-output power, multi-path energy beaming network can also enable persistent operation of a new generation of distributed unmanned systems and sensors.
PowerLight has developed advanced safety systems for both power beaming and power over fiber (PoF) that have been rigorously tested and approved by multiple governing agencies, enabling large-scale commercialization of the technology. PowerLight, which recently shipped the first ever PoF prototype for telecom applications to a major US tower provider, will work closely with several teams on the designs and demonstrations needed to further the POWER concept.
Fuel transport for military operations requires linear energy transactions that at present are easily disrupted. Keys to a successful DARPA POWER system are high altitude transfer, efficient relays, ability to make beam corrections when required, and energy harvesting.
Wireless power beaming reliably sends power over that last critical or tactical mile to equipment/vehicles that are autonomous, stationary, or moving on the ground, even if in the air. Relays, via long-distance drones, will play a crucial role across the system, carrying and depositing power at the target base or operation Comment end. Satellites can also relay from space. “We believe the next energy revolution will be enabled by the wireless energy web,” said Colonel Paul Calhoun, POWER program manager in DARPA’s Tactical Technology Office. “It will dramatically compress transport timelines and resiliently provide distributed energy to consumers in air, on land, on the sea, undersea, and in space.”
About PowerLight
PowerLight Technologies is a leading developer of safe laser beaming solutions to transmit kilowatt-class power over distance. PowerLight is ramping developments with commercial partners for both Power-over-Fiber and Wireless Power beaming solutions. PowerLight maintains headquarters in Kent, Washington, USA. For additional information visit www.powerlighttech.com.
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