Qualcomm's Wireless Charging Technology Used In Formula E To Hit Market Within 3 Years

Qualcomm expects its wireless charging technology will hit car showrooms within three years, according to a company official. Wireless charging, which is currently being tested in Formula E, will soon appear on tick sheets right next to car color and upholstery, said Graeme Davison, Qualcomm's VP of Technology. "We are really confident we will see things within the next two to three years." The company's wireless charging technology, called Halo, is used in Formula E to charge the series' safety and medical cars during the inaugural season. “The motorsport environment is a fantastic way to rapid prototype technologies that will then eventually flow down into the cars that we drive,” Davison said. Qualcomm hopes it will be able to extend the technology to charge the actual racecars going forward. The San Diego-based company teamed up with Drayson Racing Technologies for the implementation of the technology in the series. Drayson Racing Technologies Founder Paul Drayson was also the one who got Qualcomm involved in Formula E, Davison said. "Paul introduced us to [Formula E CEO] Alejandro [Agag] right at the very beginning and said, 'I think you guys have got something together.'" Agag's vision of a sustainable racing series lined up with Qualcomm's belief that the electric and hybrid vehicle market is a growing sector. The company signed a five-year rolling technical partnership with Formula E in Sept. 2013, and became one of its six founding partners. Davison did not comment on financial terms of the deal.

Graeme Davison

THE RIGHT APPROACH: While Qualcomm’s department focused on automotive technologies is small in terms of engineers -- about 100 -- it is a fundamental project within the company, Davison said. “[It is] difficult to measure in terms of dollars and number of heads. It actually belittles the value of the program.” Qualcomm has already engaged in talks with car manufacturers across America, Europe and Asia, Davison said. Its plan is to license the wireless charging technology to tier-one suppliers in the industry, which in turn will use their expertise in commercialization and mass production to produce the final product. The approach is similar to Qualcomm’s strategy in the mobile phone industry, where it has licensed its technology to companies such as Samsung and HTC. Davison: “This is about [carmakers] buying the technology from four or five of [their] tier ones with the ability to negotiate price as opposed to us coming in with the product itself."

KEEPING IT SIMPLE: Aside from its partnership with Formula E, Qualcomm is not very active in the sports sponsorship sphere. The company’s best-known deals are with the Mercedes F1 Team and as the naming-rights partner of San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium, home of the NFL San Diego Chargers and San Diego State football team. Qualcomm plans to use Saturday’s Formula E race in Long Beach as an exposure event for its employees. "We get a buzz out of seeing a Qualcomm logo on a car," Davison said. "[Because of Formula E] our technology gets exposed to more people and looks cooler." He added that the company is not interested in becoming the title sponsor of the Long Beach ePrix in the future.