Compiled by The International Telegraph from 9 sources | February 17, 2026
KEY POINTS
- Finnish researchers at three universities have demonstrated separate experimental methods of transmitting small amounts of electrical energy without wires, including guiding electric sparks with ultrasonic sound waves, electromagnetic wireless charging of warehouse robots, and radio-frequency energy harvesting for sensors.
- Viral social media claims dramatically overstate the research. Multiple fact-checks confirm Finland has not developed a wireless electricity grid or replaced power cables. DailysunchronicleVocal Media No major global news outlet — including Reuters, BBC, Bloomberg, or IEEE Spectrum — has covered the claims as a breakthrough.
- The most-cited experiment, published in Science Advances in February 2025, was an international collaboration led by a Spanish researcher at the Public University of Navarre, with the University of Helsinki as a collaborator. It demonstrated spark guidance, nih not usable power transmission. Phys.orgCKSA
- Aalto University’s wireless charging technology, tested with commercial warehouse robots, represents the most practically advanced Finnish work in this field, currently operating at approximately 1 kilowatt with plans to scale to 20 kilowatts. sciencedailyEurekAlert!
Full Article
Finnish universities are conducting legitimate research into wireless power transmission across three distinct technological approaches, but viral claims that Finland has achieved cable-free electricity flowing through the air misrepresent the scale and readiness of the work, DailysunchronicleVocal Media according to a review of published research and fact-check analyses.
The Times of India reported on Jan. 21, 2026, that Finland “is slowly making a name for itself as an innovator, albeit a low-key one, regarding wireless electricity transmission,” Infralive noting the research “promises nothing out of the ordinary and nothing that would result in an electrical paradigm shift,” Infralive according to the article’s confirmed opening paragraph by author Neha Kumari.
The ultrasonic spark experiment that went viral
The claim generating the most attention centers on research published in the journal Science Advances in February 2025. According to the paper, titled “Electric Plasma Guided with Ultrasonic Fields,” researchers demonstrated that high-intensity ultrasonic sound waves can guide small electric sparks through air along controlled paths University of Helsinki +2 — a phenomenon described as an “acoustic wire.” X +2
However, the study was not exclusively Finnish. According to the paper’s author list, the lead researcher was Dr. Asier Marzo of the Public University of Navarre in Spain, with Prof. Ari Salmi of the University of Helsinki serving as a collaborator, Phys.org alongside a researcher from the University of Waterloo in Canada. PubMedScienceDaily
Critically, this experiment does not transmit usable electrical power. Dailysunchronicle According to a fact-check by the Daily Sun Chronicle, “the ultrasonic experiment does not transmit usable electrical power” Dailysunchronicle and involves “tiny sparks over short distances, not continuous or usable electrical power for devices or grids.” Dailysunchronicle The fact-check rated the viral claims as misleading, stating that “researchers themselves describe the work as fundamental research, not a ready-to-use energy system.” Dailysunchronicle
Prof. Salmi, quoted in the University of Helsinki’s press release of Feb. 6, 2025, described potential applications as “atmospheric sciences, biological procedures and selective powering of circuits” ScienceDaily +2 — not grid-scale power delivery. Lead author Josu Irisarri expressed interest in “using very faint sparks for creating controlled tactile stimuli in the hand, perhaps creating the first contactless Braille system,” according to the same release. Phys.org +2
Aalto University’s wireless charging shows real-world promise
The most practically advanced Finnish wireless power research comes from Aalto University, where postdoctoral researcher Prasad Jayathurathnage led the development of an electromagnetic wireless charging system using a “chessboard-like grid” of transmitting coils with currents running in alternating directions. Aalto University +2
According to Aalto University’s official news release, the technology has been tested with commercial warehouse robots in cooperation with Finnish firm Solteq Robotics. forum science +2 Researcher Ishtiaque Panhwar stated that “we had almost constant efficiency and constant power received regardless of the receiver’s position and orientation,” according to the Aalto release. Aalto UniversityScienceDaily
The system currently operates at approximately 1 kilowatt, with a goal to reach 20 kilowatts for electric vehicle charging, according to Aalto University. sciencedailyEurekAlert! The related Parkzia project, funded by Business Finland, aims to commercialize the technology for industry and transport. Warehouse Automationforum science Jayathurathnage told Aalto University he was “finally bringing the product of ten years of research out of the lab.” forum scienceAalto University
The team’s work was published in IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics in 2022. sciencedailyScienceDaily According to Electrical Technology, a technical publication that reviewed Finland’s wireless power claims in February 2026, separate electromagnetic lab tests at Finnish institutions achieved over 80 percent efficiency at close range of approximately 17 centimeters using circular loop antennas Scienceforeverybody each 7.1 centimeters in diameter — sufficient for low-power gadgets but not large machines. electricaltechnology
RF harvesting and private-sector efforts round out the picture
At the University of Oulu, researchers are developing radio-frequency wireless power systems for Internet of Things sensors, Vocal Media according to multiple published sources. DailysunchronicleVocal Media Electrical Technology described this as “Wi-Fi for power,” suitable only for very low-power electronics such as sensors, trackers, and microchips. X +2
On the private-sector side, Finnish startup Willo Technologies raised €2.9 million to develop wireless charging for robots, sensors, and industrial equipment, according to Electrical Technology. Separately, Winse Power Oy, a Tampere-based company founded in 2023 Substack and selected for the European Space Agency’s Business Incubation Centre Finland program, Dealroom.co is developing laser-based “power-by-light” systems, according to the company’s public filings. Winse Power
Electrical Technology also reported that Destia, a Finnish infrastructure company, is testing wireless electric vehicle charging in Vantaa, Finland, in partnership with Electreon, an Israeli firm forum scienceHighways Today — making that a technology deployed in Finland rather than developed there.
No major outlets have reported a breakthrough
A systematic search across Reuters, the BBC, Bloomberg, The Guardian, The New York Times, The Washington Post, IEEE Spectrum, Nature, and ScienceDirect found zero articles reporting Finnish wireless electricity as a breakthrough. The story circulated primarily through social media accounts and smaller online publications, several of which conflated the separate research strands into a single, exaggerated narrative.
The Electrical Technology analysis concluded: “These experiments were not designed to power homes or cities. The energy transmitted was very small.” Scientists in Finland, the publication reported, “point out that wireless power is more likely to complement existing systems rather than replace them.” electricaltechnologyDailysunchronicle
Global context shows wireless power advancing elsewhere
Finland’s work sits within a broader global research field. In 2022, the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory wirelessly transmitted 1.6 kilowatts over 1 kilometer using a 10-GHz microwave beam in its SCOPE-M project, New Atlas according to Interesting Engineering, citing a U.S. Navy press release. In June 2025, DARPA’s POWER program beamed over 800 watts of laser power across 8.6 kilometers, IEEE Spectrum according to Interesting Engineering. New Zealand-based Emrod transmitted 550 watts across 36 meters in a 2022 demonstration TechCrunch with Airbus and ESA, IEEE Spectrum according to IEEE Spectrum and New Atlas.
Japan’s space agency JAXA is preparing the OHISAMA satellite for a 2025 launch to demonstrate space-to-ground microwave power beaming, Space.com according to Space.com and Japanese government sources.
Finland’s contributions are genuine but remain in early stages — focused on niche applications rather than the sweeping transformation depicted in viral posts. Dailysunchronicle
