Nikola Tesla was one of the most brilliant minds in modern history. It is thanks to him that we have things such as alternating current and radio. His scientific explorations of what is possible was driven by a deep-seated altruism. He wanted to benefit humanity as much as possible, without money being a major barrier to enjoying things like electricity. Tesla wanted to give the world affordable, or even free, electricity. Back then (and even today), doing so involved lots of wires and pylons, among other expensive infrastructure. That’s what spurred him to look into sending electricity wirelessly.
He finally figured out how to do it in 1901. He developed a high-voltage wireless energy transmission station named Wardenclyffe Tower.
Enter: Emrod
It’s 2020 and a startup named Emrod has picked up where Tesla left off. Based out of New Zealand, this company has begun trials of a novel wireless electricity system that can get rid of power lines, power poles, and everything else we use today to transmit electricity. This could be especially useful for people living in rural areas and islands.
Unlike Tesla, Emrod has plenty of investors willing to see this project through. They likely see the revolutionary nature of the technology, and wish to be a part of creating a new paradigm.
Trials start in October and will start delivering just a few kilowatts of power. However, if successful, this will be scaled out much more.
According to Emrod, there are several benefits to using tele-energy technology. Some of which include:
Emrod uses energy beams in the ISM (Industrial, Scientific, and Medical) band with frequencies commonly used in WiFi, Bluetooth, and RfID. Due to the point-to-point transmission, electricity is beamed straight between two points.
No Damaging Radiation
What’s great about this new energy transmission system is that there is no radiation around the beam! That is what sets it apart from high-voltage wire transmission, which has been shown to pose health risks due to the radiation it emits.
Also, if there’s ever any animals, people, helicopters, or other objects that go between the transition beam, it shuts down right away. This guarantees that the low-power laser beam will never touch anything except for the air. The lack of wires also significantly reduces the risk of electrocution.
How Much Power It Can Transmit
Here’s a little bit of math that explains how this relay system works.
A one square-meter transmitter has the ability to send around 10kW of power 10 meters (33 feet). If the transmitter is 40 square meters, it can send that 10kW an astonishing 30km (18.6 miles)! For most purposes, that is more than enough.
Without the need for wires and cables, Emrod can finally make Tesla’s wish for affordable energy available to everyone in the world, no matter where they live. Think of all the toxic diesel generators and other fossil fuel-based energy sources that will no longer need to be used. Emrod’s wireless electricity technology can finally put a nail in that toxic coffin.
Even though the initial setup will only be sending a handful of kilowatts a few kilometers away, pretty soon it will be sending unfathomable amounts of wireless electricity over many miles.
While it’s nice to think about how different the world would be today if Tesla’s investors never pulled out, and his world wireless system took the place of fossil fuels, at least we can look forward to the next 100 years and beyond being powered by clean and practically free energy.
