Energous Corporation, a developer of RF-based charging for wireless power networks, and Sensirion, provider of CO2 sensor products, has announced a collaboration to develop maintenance-free CO2 sensors powered wirelessly over the air for Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) improvement in industrial and commercial applications. The companies are working to combine Energous’ wireless power transfer technology and Sensirion’s CO2 sensors designed to improve IAQ and increase building energy efficiency through better HVAC management – removing the need for battery maintenance via reliable and consistent power delivered wirelessly over-the-air.
“CO2 sensors are being deployed in larger numbers in both industrial and commercial settings but are often located far away from central power sources and in locations that are hard to reach, limiting their ability to effectively monitor air quality,” says Cesar Johnston, CEO of Energous. “Removing the need to replace batteries in CO2 sensors enables maintenance-free deployments and solves one of the main challenges facing the industrial IoT landscape. We are excited to announce our collaboration with Sensirion to develop a CO2 sensors solution that is wirelessly powered over-the-air.”
Headquartered in Stafa, Switzerland, Sensirion has over 20 years of experience developing and manufacturing digital microsensors and systems, including gas and liquid flow sensors, differential pressure sensors and environmental sensors for the measurement of humidity and temperature, volatile organic compounds (VOC), carbon dioxide (CO2) and particulate matter (PM2.5). Sensirion’s air quality sensor portfolio measures the various facets of IAQ and have reduced petroleum consumption by 1.5 million tons in 2019 and can reduce building energy consumption by 10%.
Sensirion’s goal is to make air quality sensing more accessible to increase the health and well-being of people. The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the importance of good IAQ for public health, making CO2 sensors critical to help ventilation and air filtration systems protect human health while also ensuring energy efficiency. However, the deployment of high-density CO2 sensors can be cumbersome and incur significant maintenance costs if disposable batteries and cables are needed.
“Energous WattUp technology enables wireless power transmission with minimal size and maximum power and cost efficiency while our Sensirion PASens technology enables miniaturised and cost-effective CO2 measurement without compromising sensor performance,” says Johannes Winkelmann, product director developer experience of Sensirion. “We’re excited for this collaboration to help solve a critical challenge in the CO2 sensor market and help improve IAQ and increase building energy efficiency for industrial and commercial applications.”
Energous and Sensirion will be at electronica 2022 this month. To schedule a demo at the event, please visit here or stop by the Energous booth #C2.561, or the Sensirion booth #B3.443. To learn more about Energous, please visit Energous.com or follow the company’s corporate pages on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
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