Powercast Brings Battery-Free BLE Sensing to Europe with 25-Meter RF Power Range
New PCTB101 sensor tag uses 868 MHz RF energy harvesting to power temperature and humidity monitoring without an onboard battery.
Munich, Germany, November 10, 2026 – Powercast Corporation has introduced the PCTB101, a battery-free Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) sensor tag designed for Europe's 868 MHz RF power environment. Presented at electronica 2026 in Munich, the ultra-thin device monitors temperature and humidity while receiving wireless power from RF sources at distances of up to 25 meters.
The launch extends the Powercast EDGE platform to European applications in industrial IoT, smart buildings, logistics, retail and pharmaceutical storage. It also addresses a practical challenge for large sensor networks: replacing and disposing of batteries across hundreds or thousands of monitoring points.
How RF Energy Harvesting Powers the Sensor
The PCTB101 converts radio-frequency energy supplied by an external transmitter into electrical power for its sensing and BLE functions. Rather than relying on a replaceable onboard battery, the tag operates using harvested RF energy within the supported power coverage area. Measurements can be transmitted to standard BLE gateways or viewed through Powercast's PC BLE Tag smartphone app.
At just 1.2 mm thick, the sensor has a footprint comparable to a standard RAIN UHF RFID tag, although its data communication uses BLE. Powercast specifies a –40°C to +85°C temperature range, ±0.1°C temperature accuracy and ±1.5% relative humidity accuracy. Each device has a unique identifier to distinguish individual sensors in dense deployments.
Because its power is supplied externally, the tag can support frequent readings without the battery-conservation schedules commonly required in conventional wireless sensors. Actual operating distance and measurement performance depend on the RF power installation and deployment conditions.
From Warehouses to Smart Buildings
In warehouses and pharmaceutical storage facilities, distributed tags could help track environmental conditions at specific locations or alongside sensitive goods. Industrial users could monitor temperature and humidity around equipment and production areas, while building operators could collect localized data to support environmental control and energy-management decisions.
The distinctive proposition is operational: expanding sensor coverage without building a recurring battery-replacement program. Infrastructure planning remains important because tags need access to a suitable RF power source.
Powercast also sees potential for linking each tag's unique ID and live environmental data to asset-tracking systems and Digital Product Passport (DPP) applications. This is a proposed integration scenario rather than a confirmed DPP deployment.
Powercast Expands Its European Edge Platform
Founded in 2003 and headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Powercast develops wireless power technologies, including RF energy harvesting, magnetic resonance and inductive power transfer. Its EDGE platform combines wireless power delivery with sensing and connectivity to support distributed intelligent devices.
“By optimizing the PCTB101 for 868 MHz RF power sources, we're extending our battery-free sensing approach to European applications,” said Charles Goetz, CEO of Powercast.
The PCTB101 was unveiled at electronica 2026 in Munich, Booth C6.621. Developers and system integrators can contact Powercast to explore the sensor tag's capabilities, availability, and reference designs.
Source: Powercast Corporation, November 10, 2026.