Shanghai, China and Chicago, IL – April 25, 2023 – Shanghai Amphenol Airwave Communication Electronics Co., Ltd, an operation within Amphenol Corporation (NYSE: APH) is bringing on NuCurrent, the global authority in wireless power systems, as a strategic IP partner. This partnership will address the urgent, industry-wide need for product developers to shift toward the new Qi2 (pronounced “cheē tü””) standard. The partnership will incorporate NuCurrent’s wireless power IP, systems technology and design capabilities, and Amphenol’s expertise in antenna technology, design and manufacturing.

“When wireless standards shift from one generation to another, history shows that there are winners and losers,” said Jacob Babcock, CEO of NuCurrent. “Our partnership with Amphenol is designed to leverage their global manufacturing excellence with NuCurrent’s wireless power excellence to make it easy for OEMs to win in their market segments.” 

Amphenol and NuCurrent’s first offering is the development of a “plug-and-play” module to address the market need of OEMs and their customers. This module will provide an economical and time-sensitive upgrade path for customers that have existing Qi Certified products. It eliminates the uncertainty of Qi2 and provides a streamlined path to mass production for companies that need to be on the front end of adoption and integration in time for the winter holidays.  

“It’s exciting to see how quickly the Amphenol and NuCurrent teams came together to address this urgent industry need,” said Dan Gorsage, IOT Business Unit Leader for Shanghai Amphenol Airwave. “Early adopters will want to keep an eye out for pre-sale opportunities to lock in their orders.”  

In January 2023, the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC) announced an update to the Qi standard to improve consumer experience and device interoperability. Under the Qi1 standard, customer confusion grew with the rise of a variety of modules, ODM and OEM devices claiming to be “Qi compatible” devices. “Qi compatible” devices are not certified to the Qi standard and therefore pose serious authenticity, interoperability and safety issues compared with authentic Qi Certified devices. The Qi2 standard aims to eliminate confusion surrounding the leading global standard by making it stricter than the preceding standard and adding rigorous manufacturer certification processes and after-market enforcement. Qi1 technology will no longer be available for certification of devices >5W by Fall 2024*.  

For more information on Qi2 and how to begin integrating this technology into your products, contact sales@nucurrent.com 

*WPC Qi grace period subject to change