NuCurrent and Infineon to Expand NFC Use Cases

A preferred partnership between NuCurrent and Infineon aims to expand the use cases for near-field communication (NFC) by using cellphones to power contactless, wireless smart locks. This is the same technology used when opening a hotel room door or using Tap to Pay with a cellphone. The key difference is that Infineon’s energy-harvesting actuator collects energy from the phone to power the transaction, reducing or even eliminating the need for batteries and their associated costs. 

According to Tim Tumilty, executive VP of business development at NuCurrent, one of the challenges of deploying smart locks is the batteries. Home-lock manufacturers put 9-V battery terminals on the outside of the lock, and if the battery dies, the homeowner has to find a replacement. Many companies and industries want to replace traditional keyed locks with smart locks, but replacing batteries costs time and money. Eliminating this problem is driving demand.