Exciting times ahead for Qi 2.0 and Ki

By Glenn Koninckx, Technical Sales 

Another face-to-face edition of the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC), this time in the beautiful city of Copenhagen, Denmark. Hopping from one meeting to the next, it was nice to relax at a wonderfully hosted event at the Royal Danish Opera. At the Opera building, an architectural masterpiece might I add, we were able to enjoy a performance by one of the opera singers, a brilliant view, drinks, and appetisers. All nicely concluded by a quick tour of the actual seats of the opera and stage. But, enough about my time in Copenhagen, and on to Qi2 and Ki.  

For those of you unfamiliar with the Wireless Power Consortium, the WPC is, since its launch in 2008, is the organisation behind both Qi and Ki. The WPC is widely considered to set the standard for wireless charging of consumer products and is now heading towards the launch of Qi2.  

Qi2, a standard in wireless charging, will replace the previous standard. WPC member, Apple, provided the basis for the new Qi2 standard, building on its MagSafe technology. Apple and other WPC members developed the new Magnetic Power Profile, which is at the core of Qi2.  

It embraces magnetic alignment and authentication to improve user experience and increase power efficiency whilst supporting higher power levels than currently, which has already received great feedback from the market.

The launch of the Qi2 certification is planned for Q3 2023, so the launch is getting closer! As Resillion is an Interoperability Test Centre for Qi, it’s great to learn about, and closely follow, these new updates to the Qi standard, the impact on IOP, and testing in general. 

Alongside the exciting updates for Qi, Ki (another standard within the WPC) is aiming to launch its certification program in 2024.  

Ki, a standard for wireless charging of Kitchen Appliances, makes it possible to operate appliances such as rice cookers, toasters, blenders, coffee makers, air fryers, etc., without the challenge of finding an available power outlet and having to deal with the cable or your kitchen counter whilst cooking (which as we all know can be quite annoying). Like Qi, Ki allows wireless power transfer through induction. Rather than your regular induction furnace turning power into heat, the power will be wirelessly transmitted to your appliance.  

Resillion is an approved candidate test lab for Qi and Ki Compliance testing and will be hosting the first plugfest (test event for manufacturers to test their prototypes vs prototypes from other manufacturers or vs the test tool and test specification) at its campus in Hasselt, Belgium. Many Ki members will be bringing their prototype to this first plugfest to assess where they are in development. 

Other standards like LEV (Light Electrical Vehicles) looking to create a standard for wireless charging electric bikes, scooters, etc., or industry workgroups to charge devices such as robots, drones, etc. are also working hard to define a specification for these uses. Let’s see if they can follow in the footsteps of their big brother Qi. 

This all made the F2F meeting in Copenhagen a busy, but exciting, few days with a lot of “buzz”. But now, on to plugfest!