In 2026, laser light wireless power transfer (WPT) is shifting from eye-catching laboratory demonstrations to a serious pillar of the broader wireless energy ecosystem. Record-breaking long-distance tests, AI-aimed beams, and metasurface-shaped light are transforming what was once science fiction into a practical tool for battlefields, lunar missions, and dense IoT environments.

A New Era for Far-Field Wireless Power

Wireless power has long been associated with inductive pads and short-range magnetic links, but far-field laser systems are rewriting the rules. By converting electricity into highly collimated optical beams and focusing them onto specialized photovoltaic receivers, these systems can move kilojoules of energy across kilometers of air with remarkable precision. Wikipedia

What makes 2025–2026 special is that the technology has crossed several psychological and technical thresholds at once. DARPA’s Persistent Optical Wireless Energy Relay (POWER) program recently delivered more than 800 watts across 8.6 kilometers (5.3 miles) at the U.S. Army’s White Sands Missile Range, shattering previous distance and power records and demonstrating end-to-end efficiencies around 20 percent using laser-to-PV conversion. DARPA+2pv magazine USA That is no longer a lab curiosity; it is grid-class power spanning city-scale distances through open air.

In parallel, optical wireless power transfer (OWPT) has matured as a discipline in its own right, with recent comprehensive reviews describing how laser and LED-based systems can feed power to everything from IoT nodes to unmanned systems. ScienceDirect  Together, these developments set the stage for a decade in which energy can be routed with the same flexibility and programmability as data.

Inside the Laser Power Beaming Stack

A modern laser WPT system is a tightly integrated stack of optics, materials, control algorithms and power electronics. At the transmitter, narrow-band lasers—often operating in the near-infrared around eye-safer wavelengths—convert electrical power into coherent light. Advanced beam-forming optics and, increasingly, programmable metasurfaces sculpt that light into “flat-top” or Airy-like profiles that maintain consistent intensity across the receiver aperture while resisting diffraction and turbulence. Nature

On the receiving end, specialized photovoltaic (PV) arrays optimized for the transmitter’s wavelength convert the incoming optical power to electricity. Multi-junction III-V semiconductor cells tailored to single-color beams can achieve much higher efficiencies than conventional solar panels, and new receiver architectures use parabolic mirrors or metasurface lenses to concentrate and homogenize the beam before it hits the PV plane. Research on metasurface-aided wireless power transfer reports reception efficiencies exceeding 60 percent in some configurations, with further gains expected as device fabrication improves. Liverpool Repository

Between source and sink, AI increasingly acts as an invisible conductor. Computer-vision systems watch the receive aperture, while control algorithms adjust pointing, focus and beam shape in real time. Recent work on adaptive OWPT uses feedback to dynamically maximize received power and maintain safe exposure levels as targets move or environmental conditions change. Optica

Breaking Records: DARPA and the New Metrics of Success

For years, laser WPT headlines revolved around powering a smartphone across a room or keeping a tiny drone airborne for a few extra minutes. In 2025, the narrative shifted decisively to megajoule-scale performance. DARPA’s POWER program did not merely transmit 800 watts over 5.3 miles; over the course of a test campaign, it moved more than a megajoule of energy and proved that relays and beam hand-offs can string together long-range power “links” much like repeaters in a telecom network. HDIAC

The demonstration was intentionally theatrical: some of the received energy was used to make popcorn on the far end of the beam, visually emphasizing that this was usable, high-quality power, not just a sensor blip. Live Science But beneath the spectacle, the metrics mattered. Compared with earlier tests—230 watts over roughly 1 mile—the POWER campaign showed exponential growth in delivered power-distance product, feeding ambitions for 5-kilowatt beams spanning more than 100 miles via drone-based optical relays later in the decade. Switchgear Magazine

These milestones also shifted investor sentiment. Power beaming is no longer pigeonholed as a niche military technology. It is being evaluated as an enabling layer for persistent autonomous systems, disaster recovery, and even space-to-space and space-to-Earth energy grids.

Metasurfaces, Materials, and the 19% Efficiency Bump

One of the quiet revolutions underpinning laser WPT’s rise is the maturation of metasurfaces—engineered arrays of subwavelength structures that control light with extraordinary finesse. Where classic optics rely on bulk lenses and mirrors, metasurfaces can create customized beam shapes and focal profiles in ultrathin, lightweight elements.

Recent research in energy-focusing metasurface receivers for compact unmanned platforms has demonstrated how these structures can concentrate incident RF and optical energy onto tiny rectifiers or PV cells with significantly higher efficiency than conventional antennas or lenses. Wiley Online Library Other work has shown that carefully designed flat-top beams can boost effective transmission efficiency by nearly 20 percent, simply by ensuring that every part of the receiver is illuminated near its optimal operating point rather than over-driving the center while under-utilizing the edges. SPIE Digital Library

These breakthroughs in materials are synergistic with improvements in PV receiver design, such as vertical multi-junction cells and advanced thermal management, which aim for theoretical conversion efficiencies of 60–80 percent under monochromatic illumination. ScienceDirect The result is a virtuous cycle: better beams meet better receivers, and total system efficiency climbs toward commercially relevant thresholds.

Safety, Infrared and AI-Centric Guardrails

High-power lasers naturally raise safety concerns, especially in indoor or urban environments. Regulatory frameworks from IEC, ANSI and aviation bodies impose strict exposure limits and require fail-safe mechanisms when beams traverse spaces accessible to people or aircraft. Emerging design practices respond with layered controls.

Many 2026-bound systems operate at longer infrared wavelengths, which are more strongly absorbed by the front of the eye and can be made “eye-safer” at higher powers than visible or near-IR beams. SPIE Camera-based safety stacks monitor the entire beam path and shut down transmission if a person, bird or aircraft intrudes. Optical shutters, dynamic beam reduction and geo-fencing further reduce risk.

AI again plays a central role, distinguishing intended receivers from accidental targets, enforcing no-fly zones, and coordinating with airspace management systems. Viewed from 10,000 meters, laser WPT is as much a sensing and control problem as it is an optics problem.

Early Applications: Military, Space, and IoT

As the technology matures, three application domains are emerging as the first big adopters. Defense organizations see laser power beaming as a way to feed forward bases, untether electric vehicles, and power drone swarms without fragile fuel logistics. TU Delft

In space, startups such as Aetherflux and Star Catcher are raising substantial capital to test laser-based space solar concepts, from satellites that beam down energy to Earth to orbital grids that share power among spacecraft and lunar rovers. Aetherflux plans a 2026 demonstration of laser power beaming from orbit, while Star Catcher has already shown laser recharging of a lunar terrain vehicle and announced its first on-orbit optical power demo for 2026. New Atlas+2Freethink

Closer to home, optical wireless power is starting to appear in enterprise IoT and industrial settings, complementing RF and inductive solutions. Recent work highlights how LED and laser-based OWPT systems can safely power indoor sensors, cameras and other endpoints while complying with eye-safety regulations. Tech Xplore+2Network World

Closing Thoughts and Looking Forward

In 2026, laser light wireless power transfer is poised at an inflection point. Record-setting field tests, metasurface-enabled efficiency gains and the first commercial-scale pilots in space and enterprise environments all suggest that power is about to become as routable and virtualized as data. The remaining challenges—safety certification, cost reduction, and integration into existing energy and network infrastructures—are substantial but increasingly tractable.

Over the rest of the decade, expect a shift from one-off demonstrations to persistent services: battlefield energy webs, lunar night power feeds, warehouse IoT grids and perhaps even early experiments in beamed supplemental power for terrestrial microgrids. The beam is tightening, the receivers are sharpening, and the reasons to keep running copper to every device are steadily fading.

Reference sites

DARPA Program Sets Distance Record for Power Beaming – DARPA – https://www.darpa.mil/news/2025/darpa-program-distance-record-power-beaming

U.S. Defense Research Agency Achieves Optical Power-Beaming Record – pv magazine USA – https://pv-magazine-usa.com/2025/05/27/u-s-defense-research-agency-achieves-optical-power-beaming-record/

DARPA Smashes Wireless Power Record, Beaming Energy More Than 5 Miles Away – LiveScience – https://www.livescience.com/technology/darpa-smashes-wireless-power-record-beaming-energy-more-than-5-miles-away-and-uses-it-to-make-popcorn

Wireless Laser Power Transmission: Recent Progress and Future Challenges – Energy Reports (Elsevier) – https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2950104023000020

Practical Power Beaming Gets Real – IEEE Spectrum – https://spectrum.ieee.org/power-beaming

Author and Co-Editor:
Benoit Lafrance, – Wireless Power Transfer Technologies, Montreal, Quebec;
Peter Jonathan Wilcheck, Co-Editor, Miami, Florida.

#LaserPowerTransfer #WirelessPower #LaserBeaming #OpticalPower #Metasurfaces #DARPAPOWER #SpaceSolar #EnergyGrid #IoTCharging #FarFieldWPT