Preface
On March 21, 2024, the 2024 Asia Wireless Power Charging Conference, which was held concurrently with the Asia Charging Exhibition, was well received by the industry, at which Shuang Yu, the liaison representative of the WPC Wireless Power Charging Alliance in Greater China, delivered a speech on "WPC Qi 2.0 Unified Wireless Charging Standard". It mainly introduces the WPC overview, Qi ecosystem, other WPC standards and other important contents.
Qi 2.0 unifies the wireless charging standard
Introduction to WPC
Founded in 2008, WPC is an open, collaborative standards development organization. Nearly 300 corporate members worldwide, covering the entire supply chain. Launched the Qi standard, which is the world's leading industry, and is the creator of the world's first wireless kitchen power supply standard, Ki, and is also developing a wireless charging standard for light electric vehicles.
Qi ecosystem
Qi has been the world's leading global wireless charging standard for portable consumer electronics since 2010. Similar competitive standards were also introduced, but they soon disappeared. The industry is the only standard that uses Qi. Some OEM brands have built various proprietary enhanced solutions on top of Qi, but this is not a problem in the market as all products still support the Qi standard. In 2020, a major consumer brand introduced a proprietary wireless charging method that was not fully compatible with Qi, which caused fragmentation and confusion in the market. Retail channels are having problems promoting and selling products to consumers, and consumers are confused about which products are compatible.
In response, the WPC Wireless Power Alliance has launched the Qi 2.0 version, which includes magnetic locking and reunifies the wireless charging standard for smartphones. After the launch of the standard, it is expected that there will be about 340 million smartphones and more than 500 million wireless charging and transmitting devices in the Qi/Qi 2.0 market in 2024.
Qi v2.0 was launched in the fourth quarter of 2023, and most of the new products currently apply for and pass Qi v2.0 certification, not Qi v1.3. As of the end of February 2024, about 450 original products are in the process of being certified or have been certified for Qi v2.0. The number of Qi2.0 certified products is expected to grow to about 1 billion devices by the end of 2024.
Qi future development roadmap, in 2025, WPC will bring Qi v2. X version, faster wireless fast charging than 15W. In the next few years, WPC will focus on increasing the power level of the Qi standard. It is easier to increase power than to set standards for private wireless charging solutions, and private protocol designers design both transmitter and receiver devices. It is more difficult to develop standards for all products on the market because they take longer to ensure safety, quality, and compatibility. From 2025 to 2027, new application fields of wireless charging are planned, such as smart watches.
WPC Other Standards
WPC has launched home and industry standards: one is the Ki wireless kitchen, which is expected to be launched in 2024, and the other is a light electric vehicle, which LEV has already begun to develop specifications.
Ki v1.0 products are expected to be available by the end of 2024, and the Ki standard will be available before the product launches. Ki v1.0 supports Ki dual-purpose induction cooker, Ki stand-alone transmitter, and wireless charger with receiver coil. Subsequent versions of Ki will add support for devices such as covert transmitters, radios with transponder coils, wireless cooktops, and more.
WPC LEV is a standard for light electric vehicles that includes a wide variety, with the initial standard for e-bikes and e-scooters.
WPC hopes to make charging simple through the formulation of standards: regardless of manufacturers and product models, unify charging methods and standards, and bring convenience to consumers and users.
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Summary of the charging head network
Founded in 2008, the WPC Wireless Power Consortium is an open, collaborative standards development organization that has launched the globally leading Qi standard. Nearly 300 corporate members worldwide, covering the entire supply chain. WPC is committed to making charging easier and more convenient for everyone. WPC will also bring the Ki wireless kitchen standard and the LEV light electric vehicle standard, the world's first wireless kitchen power supply standard Ki will be officially launched in 2024, and the product is expected to be available by the end of the year.
Qi2 was launched in the fourth quarter of 2023, with approximately 450 original products in the process of being certified or Qi2 certified by the end of February 2024, and the number of Qi2 certified products is expected to grow to approximately 1 billion devices by the end of 2024. In 2025, WPC will bring Qi v2. X version, faster wireless fast charging than 15W.