MaxWave takes on wireless power transfer

Every drone eventually faces the same limitation: its battery runs out.

Whether inspecting power lines, surveying crops or supporting military operations, autonomous aircraft must periodically return to base to recharge or swap batteries, interrupting their mission.

Madison-based MaxWave believes it has a way to change that.

The startup is developing wireless energy transfer technology designed to deliver power to drones while they remain in flight, with the goal of eliminating the need to land for battery changes or recharging.

“Our core technology is transferring energy wirelessly,” founder and CEO Mirhamed Mirmozafari, Ph.D., said. “Your end user can be a drone, can be a robot, can be a battery. Every different device puts you in a different sector of the market.”

MaxWave is one of six companies participating in the inaugural gBETA Frontier Technology accelerator. Operated by gener8tor in partnership with the Wisconsin Frontier Technology Consortium, the free seven-week accelerator helps early-stage companies refine their business models, connect with mentors, gain customer traction and prepare for future investment opportunities. The program is supported through the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp.’s Ignite initiative.

Solving a century-old challenge

Inventor Nikola Tesla famously experimented with wireless power more than a century ago, but practical implementation proved elusive.

Mirmozafari thinks advances in microwave engineering, beam steering and computing power have finally made the concept commercially viable.

“Wireless power beaming is not a new technology. It’s a century-old problem,” he said. “The technologies come to a point that now we can solve these problems, and that was the foundation of MaxWave.”

The company’s technology uses a ground-based transmitter that continuously tracks a moving drone, directing a focused beam of energy toward a lightweight receiver mounted on the aircraft. Rather than requiring a drone to return to a charging station, the system is designed to keep delivering power while the aircraft continues its mission.

“Our transmitter detects and locates the drone’s location,” Mirmozafari said. “At the same time, we adjust itself to keep the beam always on the drone, so the drone can move and do the operation while getting charged.”

From laboratory research toward real-world demonstrations

MaxWave grew out of Mirmozafari’s research career.

After earning his doctorate at the University of Oklahoma, he spent more than a decade at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, first as a postdoctoral researcher and later as a scientist studying high-power microwave systems before launching the company in 2020.

The company completed a National Science Foundation Phase I Small Business Innovation Research grant in 2024, demonstrating that it could efficiently transfer energy through the air to a stationary receiver.

That work led to a $1.25 million NSF Phase II award, which is now funding the next stage of development. Engineers are integrating the technology into drones and preparing a hover demonstration that will show a drone receiving wireless power while in flight. By the end of the Phase II project in 2027, the company hopes to demonstrate wireless power transfer over distances of approximately 100 meters.

Mirmozafari believes commercially deployable systems could begin emerging within roughly two years.

Applications beyond drones

Although drones are MaxWave’s initial focus, Mirmozafari said the underlying technology could eventually power a wide range of autonomous systems, including robotics, remote battery charging, infrastructure inspection, agriculture, logistics and defense.

Building a team to commercialize the technology

What began with Mirmozafari working largely on his own has grown into a team based at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Research Park. He credits that growth to chief technology officer Marcos Martinez, Ph.D., as well as engineers Ted Nowak, Ph.D., and Eric Weber, Ph.D., all of whom have helped advance the company’s technology toward commercial demonstrations.

The company plans to host a public technology demonstration later this fall, where attendees will be able to watch a drone receive wireless power while hovering in flight.

“People won’t get the feeling until they see the stuff,” Mirmozafari said.

For a preview of this emerging technology, MaxWave will participate in the gBETA Frontier Technology accelerator public showcase from 4 to 7 p.m. Sept. 2 at the Anthony J. Natalizio Center on Waukesha County Technical College’s Pewaukee campus. Click here to register to attend this free event.