A New Record for Optical Power Beaming

September 1, 2025

Naval Research Laboratory
Washington D.C.
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Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) recognized the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) during their POWER Phase 2 Industry Day, for contributions to the Persistent Optical Wireless Energy Relay (POWER) program, which shattered existing records for optical power beaming over distance.

Power beaming is a method of transmitting electricity wirelessly through the air using directed energy, such as laser light. Instead of relying on traditional cables, scientists use precisely aimed beams to deliver power over long distances from a stationary source to a remote receiver, such as a drone or forward operating base. This technology functions like wireless charging but operates across much greater ranges, offering a potential breakthrough in energy logistics for both civilian and defense applications.

NRL Electrical Engineer Alex Grede, Ph.D., and Research Physicist Justin Lorentzen performed critical technical contributions for POWER.

In a landmark series of tests at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, the POWER team achieved more than 800 watts of power delivered during a 30-second transmission from a laser 8.6 kilometers (5.3 miles) away. Over the course of the campaign, more than one megajoule of energy was successfully transferred, surpassing previous benchmarks by orders of magnitude.

The NRL team measured the record-breaking achievement for DARPA’s POWER Receiver Array Demo (PRAD). Their technical expertise and collaboration with industry and government partners were instrumental in achieving the milestone.

“There’s a statistic that the majority of casualties that were experienced in Iraq and Afghanistan were related to fuel and water delivery,” Lorentzen said. “The idea is to reduce the number of fuel deliveries that are needed by supplementing the power delivery to forward operating positions with power beaming.”

Power beaming can be used to mitigate varying issues that the military is faced with.

“Now in modern warfare, we are seeing an explosion in autonomous systems and platforms, but one of the issues is keeping them powered. This technology could be the solution,” Lorentzen said.

The program is exploring the use of laser-based power beaming to energy transmission to remote locations without traditional infrastructure — a potential game changer for defense, humanitarian assistance, and space applications.

“Marines do a lot of humanitarian efforts. In areas that become inaccessible during a storm, you could just drop receivers and emitters. That way you don’t need to worry about running cabling,” Grede said. “You don’t need to worry about inaccessible roads and areas because you can build wireless infrastructure.”

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