Raytheon, a defense and aerospace company, has been awarded a contract worth $10 million from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DarPA) to develop a wireless, air transmission system known as Energy Web Dominance. The goal of the project is to deliver energy to disputed areas around the world.
The system, called the Persistent Optical Wireless Energy Relay (Power), will consist of a series of unmanned aerial vehicles equipped with laser receivers and energy transmitters. The energy will be transmitted to a high altitude and then relayed through a series of intermediate points to the target area.
This system will allow energy to be provided to either a point on Earth or to another autonomous air object. In the latter case, the device will be able to remain in the air indefinitely as its batteries will be constantly charged from a distance.
The Power system will create an “energy network” that can be used by military logistics to instantly redistribute energy where it is most needed. It will act as a sort of energy line in the sky, providing unlimited endurance to ground, air, or sea robots, and allowing for strategic energy redirection.
Colonel Paul Kalhun, from the Power Tactical Office Tactical Technological Office, described the Power system as “the Internet for energy,” using stable, multi-seated networks to transmit energy from abundant sources to areas lacking in energy.
However, there are some drawbacks to the system. When converting electricity into laser light, approximately 20% of energy is lost, and when converting the laser back into electricity, up to 50% of energy is lost. With the Power system’s series of relaying stations, energy losses will occur at each stage.
Despite these challenges, DarPA remains confident in the technology and sees potential applications beyond the military. Kalhun believes that the wireless energy network will be the next energy revolution, significantly speeding up transportation processes and reliably providing distributed energy to consumers in the air, on land, sea, underwater, and even in space.
Source: Raytheon