
PULS buys high power wireless charging specialist Wiferion from Tesla

After a turbulent few months, DIN power supply maker PULS has acquired the business of German wireless charging specialist Wiferion from Tesla.
The industrial high power wireless charging technology at Wiferion will now be further enhanced by the capabilities of Munich-based PULS. The current operational Wiferion team will remain in Freiburg as the PULS Wireless business unit.
This will supply automated ground vehicles (AGV), Mobile Robots (Cobot) and Industrial Trucks with the etaLINK Inductive power systems that range from 1kW to 36kW. Wiferion, which was founded in 2015 by four researchers from Fraunhofer, also had a deal with Witricity for wireless charging technology.
PULS has taken over all existing contracts, trademark rights and patents of Wiferion but nothing will change in the operation of the business for customers, which include ABB, Kuka and Staubli. This follows a deal for Tesla to buy Wiferion which was shown in financial filings in Germany back in June.
In the medium term, customers will benefit from PULS’ global manufacturing capacities in the Czech Republic, China and Germany. Large quantities of product can be produced in the highest quality and scaled up as required. In addition, PULS can procure more cost-effectively due to its purchasing volume and global sources, securing the supply chain and product life.
The similarity in technology will allow PULS engineers to quickly familiarise themselves with Wiferion’s products and topologies. As PULS already has a strong presence in intralogistics, the wireless charging systems fit well into the existing product portfolio and address a similar customer base says the company.
“As a pioneer, Wiferion has successfully established inductive charging for the energy supply of mobile robots and forklifts in the market and gained a leading position. With the additional capabilities of PULS, we want to make this system the global market standard and will invest significantly for this purpose,” says Bernhard Erdl, Managing Director and Owner of PULS GmbH.
“PULS employs more than 100 of the best developers in the industry and has global production and sales locations that take our charging technology and scalability to a new level,” said Julian Seume, former CSO of Wiferion, who together with Matthieu Ebert forms the management team of the PULS Wireless Business Unit. “In the area of new product development and application support, we are now in a much stronger position and can offer our customers an even better service.”
