WePower Technologies and Southco have announced a battery-free, wireless smart lock concept and are demonstrating it at CES 2026 (North Hall, Booth 8425). The companies say the concept delivers secure electronic access without batteries or wired power, aiming to reduce maintenance and installation complexity for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and facility operators.
The demo unit integrates WePower’s Gemns G200 energy harvester with high-efficiency electronics to power Southco’s locking actuator and a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) radio without a battery. The companies say the lock uses kinetic energy harvesting to power both locking and wireless communication, with the goal of eliminating power wiring and battery service visits.
The companies position the concept for retrofits in locations where running power cables or scheduling battery replacement is expensive or impractical, including remote enclosures, data center cabinets, and industrial equipment. The companies say removing batteries and wiring can reduce service truck rolls, avoid downtime, and make it more practical to scale electronic access across thousands of access points.
The lock pairs wirelessly with a smartphone app, which the companies say can be used to securely control lock state remotely. WePower says the Gemns platform supports custom solutions tailored to specific customer and application requirements, and Southco says its connected access hardware is designed for ultra-low-power actuation and simplified installation.
“We have simplified traditional wired access systems down to a single plug-and-play touchpoint,” said Steve Spatig, General Manager, Electronic Access Solutions at Southco. “Simply swap out your mechanical lock with a connected smart lock and connect wirelessly via your smartphone or wireless gateway. And now with energy harvesting technology like the WePower kinetic energy generator, we can offer a battery-free solution as well.”
WePower says its patented Gemns Energy Harvesting Generator technology uses electromagnetic induction with permanent magnets and custom circuitry to capture kinetic energy (such as button presses, motion, or environmental triggers) and convert it into usable power. WePower says the technology outputs energy in the millijoule range, up to 40× more power than previous kinetic harvesters, to support long-range wireless transmissions, advanced sensors, and edge computation without batteries.
Source: WePower Technologies
