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Mitsubishi Heavy Industries tests long-distance wireless power transmission

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries conducted ground demonstration testing of wireless power transmission in March 2015 at the company's Kobe Shipyard & Machinery Works in Japan. The budding technology serves as the core enabler for the space solar power systems (SSPS) that are envisioned as power-generation systems of the future.

MHI says it has now verified the viability of long-distance wireless power transmission. One envisioned future scenario has a satellite in space beaming 1 gigawatt (GW) of power to Earth -- or a spacecraft or satellite. As a short-distance technology on the ground, power could be beamed wirelessly from a source to an electric car for charging.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries' wireless power transmission send station.

 

 

In the demonstration test, 10 kW of power was sent from a transmitting unit by microwave. The reception of power was confirmed at a receiver unit located 500 meters (m) away by the illumination of LED lights, using part of the power transmitted. The transmission distance and power load mark new milestones in Japan with respect to length and volume of wireless power transmission.

The testing also confirmed the performance of the advanced control system technology used to regulate the direction of the microwave beam so that it does not veer from the targeted receiver unit. However, MHI did not provide any type of power-loss figures for the test, which were designed more for investigating sending power from point A to point B with accuracy.

MHI conducted the ground demonstration testing based on an agreement with Japan Space Systems, the incorporated foundation that has been consigned by the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry to carry out the "2012 Solar Power Wireless Transmission Technology Development Project."

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries' wireless power transmission receiver station.

 

 

Wireless power transmission technology aims to eliminate the cable connections conventionally necessary for transmitting electricity, and the newly successful test results lead the way to applying the technology in numerous terrestrial fields.

The achievement of wireless power transmission over long distances will not only facilitate the transmission of power to locations where installation of power cables has been difficult or dangerous; it is also expected to contribute to transmission of power from offshore wind turbines and various other applications in the future. One readily conceivable application is wireless transmission of power to electric vehicles.

The wireless power transmission being developed for SSPS usage is referred to as a radio emission technology, and once the technology is optimized it could potentially enable wireless transmission of power over unprecedented distances. The SSPS is being developed as a system that will generate power on a geostationary satellite at 36,000 km above the Earth using solar cell panels; the generated power will be transmitted to Earth by microwave/laser (i.e., without relying on cables), and the power received on the ground will be converted to electrical energy. As the power source is environmentally clean and inexhaustible, the SSPS could become a viable energy source that can solve a range of environmental and energy issues. Huge hurdles remain, though, given the huge financial costs of putting even a single functioning unit in space.

Going forward, MHI aims to pursue expanded practical applications of this advanced aerospace technology.

Source: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries

Published August 2015

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