# PowerLight Technologies

> PowerLight Technologies is a Kent, Washington-based engineering company that transmits electricity through the air using lasers. Spun out of the original LaserMotive (founded 2006 by Tom Nugent and Jordin Kare), PowerLight builds end-to-end power beaming systems that keep drones flying for hours, relay energy across kilometers of free space, and underpin DARPA initiatives for terrestrial, aerial, and lunar power transmission.

- **Founded:** 2006
- **Headquarters:** Kent, Washington, United States
- **Founders:** Tom Nugent (Co-Founder & CTO (founded predecessor LaserMotive, 2006)), Jordin Kare (Co-Founder (LaserMotive, 2006; deceased 2017))
- **Team size:** ~39 employees
- **Products:** Laser Power Beaming System (free-space), Power-over-Fiber (PoF), Beam Tracking & Laser Safety System, Defense & Aerospace Engineering Services
- **Notable:** Won the $900,000 NASA Centennial Challenges Power Beaming prize in 2009 by driving a 4.8 kg climber up a 900 m cable using only laser light., First to market with commercialized high-power, long-distance optical power-over-fiber (2017)., First documented in-flight laser power delivery to a fielded military UAS - flight demonstrations concluded at Shaw AFB in 2026.

## Products & services

- **Laser Power Beaming System (free-space)** — End-to-end transmitter + receiver pair that converts electricity to a high-power laser, sends it through open air, and converts it back to usable DC power at the target - powering UAS, ground vehicles, and remote sensors.
- **Power-over-Fiber (PoF)** — High-power optical energy delivered through a single optical fiber, useful where copper transmission is dangerous, impractical, or vulnerable to electromagnetic interference.
- **Beam Tracking & Laser Safety System** — Proprietary safety controls and beam-shaping that allow kilowatt-class laser energy transmission in shared airspace without harming wildlife, aircraft, or operators.
- **Defense & Aerospace Engineering Services** — Custom integration work for DARPA, the U.S. Department of Defense, CENTCOM, and aerospace partners pursuing persistent ISR and energy relay missions.

## Achievements

- Won the $900,000 NASA Centennial Challenges Power Beaming prize in 2009 by driving a 4.8 kg climber up a 900 m cable using only laser light.
- First to market with commercialized high-power, long-distance optical power-over-fiber (2017).
- First documented in-flight laser power delivery to a fielded military UAS - flight demonstrations concluded at Shaw AFB in 2026.
- Selected for the DARPA POWER program to build a wireless laser energy relay for global operations.
- Selected for the DARPA LunA-10 initiative to design power transmission infrastructure for the moon.
- Selected by CENTCOM to deliver a prototype Group-2 UAS wireless power beaming solution.

## Latest updates

- **2026-04** — Concluded multi-hour DoD flight demonstrations at Poinsett Electronic Combat Range, Shaw AFB - keeping a fixed-wing military UAS aloft on a laser beam.
- **2025-12** — Unveiled end-to-end laser power beaming system to enable 'Infinite Flight' for DoD Unmanned Aerial Systems.
- **2024-12** — Selected by CENTCOM to deliver a prototype Group-2 UAS wireless power beaming solution in 2025.
- **2024-08** — Closed $5.25M venture round.
- **2024-01** — Joined the DARPA LunA-10 lunar power architecture initiative.

## Links

- Website: https://powerlighttech.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/powerlight-technologies
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/LaserMotive
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PowerLightTech
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PowerLightTechnologies/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/powerlight-technologies
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-28