IEEE.org | IEEE Xplore Digital Library | IEEE Standards | IEEE Spectrum | More Sites

Join IEEE
logo ieee
Skip Navigation
Skip Navigation

Through the Subsurface Long Range Wireless Power Transfer and its Applications

Date: 19/02/2026
Time: 9:00 am
Presenter: Charles Van Neste
Abstract: (This webinar is sponsored by PELS TC 9) When we think of power transfer, rarely do we think of soil as a transmission medium. Yet, Single Wire Earth Return (SWER) systems have been in use for decades for just this purpose, replacing the distribution return cable with the soil. Could we take this idea one step further, and replace both forward and return cables with the soil? In this seminar, research will be presented that offers the possibility of using only the soil as the complete power transmission medium, opening the door to an array of new and exciting possibilities previously difficult or unobtainable. The theory of operation will be explored with an overview on the present technology development, the external stakeholders supporting this research, and the types of industrial engineering solutions/opportunities it can provide.

Register Now

background (47)
Dr. Van Neste is an Associate Professor working in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at Tennessee Tech University (TTU) in Cookeville Tennessee. He obtained his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from TTU in 2009 followed by a post-doctoral fellowship at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. In 2011, he accepted a position to lead an energy research program as part of a Canada Excellence Research Chairs Grant in the department of Chemical and Materials Engineering at the University of Alberta, Canada. There he developed several unique power transfer techniques that he is presently applying over a broad range of research areas and applications. He is a Senior Member of IEEE, currently holds 13 fully granted patents with 4 patents pending, 58 publications, and 1 book chapter. His primary research interests involve alternative forms of energy generation and transmission with a major focus in wireless and quasi-wireless power transfer, high frequency inverter design, electronic instrumentation, electromagnetic interactions, and sensor development.