TI Korea (CEO Kent Jeon, www.ti.com/ww/kr ) October 23, 2012 – TI (CEO Kent Jeon) announced that its intelligent energy harvesting and power management solution, bq25504, has been selected as the winner in the energy category of the '2012 WSJ Technology Innovation Awards' by the Wall Street Journal, a leading global business publication. This recognition acknowledges TI's innovative approach to ambient energy extraction.

The bq25504 is the industry's highest-efficiency "boost charger" for nano-power energy harvesting applications. It manages power ranging from microwatts to milliwatts generated from various energy sources, such as solar, thermoelectric, electromagnetic, and even vibrational energy. By increasing potential energy harvesting by 30% to 70% compared to competing products, it can power wireless sensor networks, monitoring systems, and portable electronic devices without the need for batteries.

The availability of energy sources from which energy harvesters extract power is typically sporadic. Because the bq25504 manages power in such environments, it ensures a consistent power supply for critical applications such as infrastructure and building monitoring. This type of sensor network can utilize the bq25504's energy storage to handle peak currents that cannot be supplied directly from the mains power supply.

Ahmad Bahai, CTO of TI’s Analog Business Unit and Director of TI’s Kilby Lab, said, “A world without worrying about phone batteries is not a dream because they are automatically and permanently charged from ambient energy, including human movement, lighting, and temperature differences.” “From low power to no power, TI is opening up new possibilities that were impossible with traditional battery power systems,” he said. “The bq25504 is just one of the energy harvesting solutions that realize a battery-free world and a cleaner future. TI is deeply honored to receive the prestigious Wall Street Journal Technology Innovation Award, which recognizes the best technological achievements.”

Now in its 12th year, the Wall Street Journal Technology Innovation Awards recognize and honor individuals and organizations worldwide that have achieved significant technological innovation. This year, the Wall Street Journal received over 536 entries across 18 categories, including innovation in energy and power, manufacturing technology, semiconductors/electronics, and wireless communications, and an independent panel of judges evaluated the entries based on the following three criteria:

• Have you broken away from traditional thinking or processes in each field through innovative technology?
• Has there been progress beyond improvement regarding existing achievements?
• Can it have a broad impact on each field or future technology?
(For more details on the 2012 Technology Innovation Awards, please refer to the WSJ Technology Innovation Awards website)