Almost a decade ago, a standards organization known mostly for developing technology to charge your phone without cables released a short white paper outlining their plans to use wireless charging to reduce the tangle of cords accumulating on our kitchen countertops.
At the time, the diversification into kitchen tech by a standards body focused up to that point on mobile phones was both welcome and a bit of a surprise. However, for the companies behind it – like Philips – putting the concept into a white paper and making it a formal part of a trade standards organization like the WPC was a big step, the culmination of a lot of work building the technology.
Fast forward to fall of 2026, after years of building all the necessary components of making a true industry standard, the Ki cordless kitchen looks like it’s finally on the precipice of becoming a reality in the form of working, interoperable products.
For those not familiar with the technology (which is probably most everyone except kitchen tech nerds and industry insiders), the main difference between Qi (the wireless phone charging standard) and Ki is that Ki is designed to power appliances directly rather than charge a battery. According to the consortium, it can support appliances requiring up to 2,200 watts and work in both 110-volt and 220-volt markets.
The way it works is that a consumer places the appliance on a compatible cooktop or countertop, where a transmitter beneath the surface delivers power to a receiver built into the appliance.Ki builds on induction cooking technology by adding near-field communication between the appliance and the power transmitter. The appliance identifies itself and requests the appropriate amount of power, with no battery or Bluetooth pairing required.
At IFA 2026, the Wireless Power Consortium offered a look at how Ki will evolve over the next few years from a technical standard to one that makes its way into kitchen countertops, appliances, and, eventually, intelligent cookware.
The first configuration extends a conventional induction cooktop so that a cooking zone can either heat a pan or power a Ki appliance. Another version places the transmitter beneath a countertop, allowing kitchen designers to hide the technology under the work surface.
“We see a lot of kitchen design companies that love it because they hate making holes in their nice countertops or pulling wires,” said Rick Dumont, director of business development for the consortium’s promotion team, at IFA. “You can hide it under the counter, so it also enables new kitchen designs.”
A third configuration, known as the “Island” specification, combines appliance power with invisible induction cooking beneath a heat-resistant material such as porcelain or Dekton.
At the Smart Living Forum at IFA, Dumont presented the consortium’s technical roadmap, which outlined how the dual-function Ki cooktop and certification program began testing in 2025, followed by concealed power and the Island specification this year, and smart cookware in 2027.
However, according to Dumont, for consumers the more meaningful target is 2028, when European kitchen manufacturer Nobilia plans to begin integrating Ki into its kitchens.
“We started this cooperation with Nobilia in the middle of last year, when the standard was ready,” Dumont said. “They want to launch it in the course of 2028,” Dumont said. Nobilia’s commitment has also encouraged appliance brands to begin developing compatible products.
Long-time smart kitchen insiders may remember the wave of proprietary smart guided cooking technology, like the Hestan Cue and Smartypan, that enabled pans to perform temperature-controlled, recipe-guided cooking, with instructions delivered through the cookware, cooktop, or a smartphone. With Ki’s embedded NFC technology, Dumont told us that Ki-enabled cookware will be able to perform these guided cooking functions, unlike previous efforts, and that it should interoperate across Ki-compliant brands. Dumont expects smart Ki cookware to reach the market in 2030, roughly two years after the first kitchen installations.
Ki still faces the chicken-and-egg challenge of any new standard, where kitchen manufacturers need appliances, appliance makers need installed kitchens, and end consumers need enough compatible products to make the system worthwhile. Adding to the challenge is the fact that Ki appliances will also cost more than corded versions because manufacturers must add a receiver coil and supporting electronics.
But after a decade of hard work, it seems the pieces are beginning to come together.
“We see the countertop manufacturers, we see the kitchen builders, and we see induction cooking, which is the basis of this technology, all moving forward,” Dumont said. “Adding communication and Ki Cordless Kitchen to that is a no-brainer.”
You can watch my full interview with Rick Dumont at IFA below.
