New Zealand: Kiwi start-up Emrod claims to have developed the world’s first long-range, high-power, wireless power transmission technology. Powerco, New Zealand’s second-largest electricity distribution company, will be testing the technology as an alternative to transmission via copper lines.

The Emrod technology works by utilizing electromagnetic waves to safely and efficiently transmit energy wirelessly over vast distances. The prototype received some government funding and was designed and built-in Auckland in cooperation with Callaghan Innovation.

According to a company statement, New Zealand’s second-largest electricity distribution company, Powerco, will be the first to test the wireless power transmission technology.

The company was founded by tech entrepreneur Greg Kushnir, who was determined to find a technology that can reduce power distribution costs, avoid outages and support renewable energy.

“We have an abundance of clean hydro, solar, and wind energy available around the world but there are costly challenges that come with delivering that energy using traditional methods, for example, offshore wind farms or the Cook Strait here in New Zealand requiring underwater cables which are expensive to install and maintain,” said Kushnir.

He continued explaining the concept behind developing a wireless power transmission technology. “I wanted to come up with a solution to move all that clean energy around from where it’s abundant to where it’s needed in a cost-effective, eco-friendly way.

“Energy generation and storage methods have progressed tremendously over the last century but energy transmission has remained virtually unchanged since Edison, Siemens, and Westinghouse first introduced electric networks based on copper wires 150 years ago,” stated Kushnir.

When Kushnir investigated ways to transmit energy wirelessly over vast distances he was struck by how little has been done in the field.

“Everyone seems to be fixated on the notion that energy comes to consumers as electricity over copper wires and I knew there had to be a better way,” he says.