CTEK Partners With WiTricity.
Motorcyclists, especially those subject to Canadian climates will have long ago discovered the importance of a battery tender. Chances are many of you will therefore be familiar with CTEK, industry leaders in the battery charging game. This Swedish company has sold over 6.2 million of their battery charging systems in 70 countries around the world, and they have just taken an important step to further the technology.
CTEK has entered into a licensing agreement with WiTricity, leaders in the technology of wireless power transfer over distance. This technology allows electricity to travel from device to device using magnetic resonance . I won’t go into the technical explanation here but I would highly recommend visiting http://witricity.com/technology/witricity-the-basics/ for more information.
This isn’t new tech, at least the science behind it isn’t; Nikola Tesla’s experiments at the turn of the 20th century proved that the transfer of electricity in this manner was possible using spark-excited radio frequency resonant transformers, now known as Tesla Coils. You may recall seeing these Tesla Coils being used by Sci-fi movie villains to zap a variety of monsters, henchmen and superheroes since the early days of Hollywood. However, at the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Tesla used them to illuminate lightbulbs from across a stage to the amazement of the entire world. That’s right, over 100 years ago we had the ability to go wireless and here we are still plugging in.
“CTEK is adopting WiTricity’s technology to revolutionize battery charging by removing the need for cables in a wide range of automotive, industrial, and recreational vehicle battery systems, eliminating the need for our customers to plug in,” said CTEK CEO, Jon Lind. “We are excited to be on the forefront of the next generation of battery charging products for consumers and industry, and look forward to leveraging WiTricity’s ground-breaking technology to bring a new level of convenience and ease of use to market.”
There’s been no announcement regarding expected timelines but it appears we’ll soon be able to charge our motorcycle batteries without the need for cables. Most exciting of all, this technology is getting much needed investments from industry leaders. Investments that will help to lower the cost of wireless power transfer over distance and push it into the mainstream. Let me give you one example of what could be possible: Imagine you live in a city where the infrastructure such as roadways, major centres and even businesses and homes all utilize wireless power transfer. That would mean that your electric motorcycle or car could be connected to a power source at ALL times, even when moving. The same goes for all of your electronic devices. That’s still a long way off but CTEK and WiTricity are about to take us another step closer.
