The wireless electricity transmission that Nikola Tesla dreamed of more than a century ago has been successfully realized for the first time in the USA over such a long distance. The Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), affiliated with the US Department of Defense, used laser technology to transmit electricity wirelessly over a distance of 8.6 kilometers within the scope of the program called POWER. The amount of power transferred was recorded as 800 watts.
A new record in wireless electricity transmission
The test was carried out in the state of New Mexico. The system used is based on a special receiver structure that can convert laser beam into electrical energy. This structure, called PRAD (Power Receiver Array Demo), was designed in a spherical shape and directs the laser to hundreds of photovoltaic cells via a parabolic mirror located inside.
These cells convert the laser light back into electricity. The efficiency of the system is currently measured at around 20 percent. However, the real success was experienced in the range of wireless transmission. In the previous attempt, only 230 watts of energy could be transmitted over a distance of 1.7 kilometers. The new test shows that the highest values have been reached in terms of distance and power transfer.
DARPA’s POWER program shares a similar foundation to Tesla’s vision of the Wardenclyffe Tower, which he built in 1901 but was left unfinished. Tesla’s idea of using the Earth’s natural resonance to wirelessly transmit electricity globally could not be put into practice due to financial and technical inadequacies at the time.
The program is still in its first phase. In future steps, work is underway to make the system work with higher efficiency and at much longer distances. The ultimate goals include integrating laser transmitters and receivers into unmanned aerial vehicles and providing 10 kilowatts of energy transmission up to 200 kilometers away.
