Energysquare makes wireless recharging a reality

• Author: Catherine Jewell
• Position: Information and Digital Outreach Division, WIPO

The company has built its business model around its expertise and know how. Thanks to its large portfolio of patents, it is licensing its award-winning technology to major international electronics manufacturers.

In 2020, Energysquare signed its first technology partnership with electronics giant Lenovo. The company's CEO, Timothée Le Quesne, shares Energysquare's experience in taking its technology to the market.

You can't license a technology if you don't own it and it isn't protected and managed effectively.

Tell us about your technology

Unlike the induction charging solutions that are currently on the market, Power by Contact® operates by conduction, that is, the charge is made through direct contact between the device and the surface. This makes for a more efficient charge because there is no interference, no overheating, and no energy loss. Charging speeds are comparable to traditional methods.

Power by Contact® is a concentration of advanced microelectronics and algorithms. It allows users to charge all their electronic devices simultaneously on a single surface, without having to find the right cable or adapter to do so. Power by Contact® is the first technology to allow wireless charging of laptops. It also gives users access to data about which devices are being charged, when and where.

Energysquare is reinventing the way we charge our electronic devices. Their wireless-charging technology, Power by Contact® offers a smart solution for charging several devices simultaneously. (Photo: Courtesy of Energysquare)

What prompted you to develop Power by Contact®?

Over the past decade, we’ve seen a huge increase in the number of battery-powered small electronic devices, and with that, an increase in the number of cables we use every day to charge them. Technology should make our lives easier, but the tangle of cables we need to charge our electronic devices – a consequence of poor ergonomic design – has created a poor experience for users. To resolve this problem, we set about building a seamless charging technology that allows users to power up their devices effortlessly, without the need to find and plug-in the right cable to do so.

What challenges did you face in breaking into the electronics market?

Convincing large industry players to adopt a brand-new technology is not easy, and bringing technology from the laboratory to mass production is always challenging. We have spent years developing a technology that meets the highest...