Cutting The Cord: Energy Harvesting And Matter For Smarter Homes

As IoT adoption rapidly grows—expected to reach 40 billion devices by 2030—sustainably powering these devices is becoming a major challenge. Frequent battery replacements contribute to increased costs and massive electronic waste. To address this, the industry is turning to energy harvesting, which captures ambient energy (light, heat, or motion) to power devices without batteries. Belgian innovator e-peas and connectivity leader Qorvo are pioneering this shift with intelligent, self-powered IoT solutions.

One standout example is their Matter-enabled smart light switch, which operates entirely on harvested indoor light. A photovoltaic cell collects ambient light energy, while e-peas’ AEM13920 energy harvesting PMIC efficiently manages energy collection, storage, and delivery. It protects the storage element from overcharging, communicates system diagnostics, and ensures continuous, reliable operation. Paired with Qorvo’s QPG6200 SoC, the system enables seamless connectivity with protocols like Matter, Zigbee, Thread, and Bluetooth Low Energy—making it highly versatile for modern smart home ecosystems.

Beyond smart homes, energy harvesting has the potential to power IoT in hard-to-reach places: from wearable health devices and infrastructure sensors to public transit systems and disaster response tools. With proper power management, this technology dramatically reduces maintenance and environmental impact.

By reducing reliance on disposable batteries and enabling sustainable, maintenance-free operation, Qorvo and e-peas are helping redefine how IoT devices are powered. Their collaboration reflects a growing trend toward smarter, more efficient, and eco-friendly IoT—a vision critical for the success of future 5G, 6G, and connected device ecosystems.