XPANCEO Partners With ITEN on AR Lens Batteries
XPANCEO has declared a partnership with French battery developer ITEN to create a proof-of-concept augmented reality contact lens powered by a miniature solid-state battery.
The project is intended to address one of the main technical obstacles to smart contact lens development: the difficulty of integrating compact, safe energy storage systems into devices designed to sit directly on the surface of the eye.
Augmented reality contact lenses are still in an early stage of development. Companies working in the sector continue to confront challenges related to battery size, heat generation, durability, and material compatibility. Existing battery technologies have caused challenges because conventional batteries are comparatively thick and not designed for long-term use in ocular wearable devices.
XPANCEO, founded in 2021 and based in the UAE, has been developing smart contact lenses capable of supporting augmented reality and health-monitoring features. The company has focused on reducing the physical limitations of XR contact lenses, including weight, thickness, and thermal output, while concurrently addressing biocompatibility and user safety requirements.
The company said that some functions in smart contact lenses may operate via energy-harvesting systems that draw power from the wearer’s body. These methods include capturing mechanical energy produced through blinking, thermal differences across the lens surface, electrochemical interactions involving tear fluid and the use of integrated solar cells.
However, higher-power functions, such as augmented reality image display systems, require a more stable energy supply. According to XPANCEO, these features depend on sustained milliwatt-level power delivery, increasing the need for compact, high-density battery systems.
The companies said solid-state batteries could help resolve some of these issues because they do not rely on liquid electrolytes used in conventional lithium-ion batteries. As a result, the batteries are not vulnerable to leaking, swelling or combustion in the same way as traditional battery systems.
XPANCEO stated that the batteries being developed with ITEN are thin and flexible, suitable for embedding into soft contact lens materials. The companies also stated that the systems are intended to deliver short bursts of energy required for wireless connectivity and augmented reality display functions without rapid performance degradation.
Solid-state battery technology is still undergoing wider commercial development across multiple industries. The technology is considered more difficult and costly to manufacture at scale than conventional lithium-ion batteries, and its large-scale commercial availability remains limited.
ITEN’s work differs from larger solid-state battery systems currently being investigated for electric vehicles and stationary energy storage. The company specialises in nanomaterial fabrication and produces fully ceramic electrodes using a mesoporous structure intended to improve charging and discharging efficiency inside miniature batteries.
The company, based in Dardilly, France, began mass production of its first-generation ceramic solid-state microbatteries in May 2025. XPANCEO stated that these batteries are expected to be integrated into its developing smart contact lens systems.
The announcement marked the latest stage in XPANCEO’s efforts to develop commercially usable smart contact lenses capable of supporting augmented reality applications within a compact wearable format. The companies stated that the proof-of-concept project demonstrates that miniature high-density energy storage systems can now be produced at a manufacturing scale and incorporated into contact lenses.
ITEN chief executive Vincent Cobée said the partnership combined the company’s solid-state energy storage technology with XPANCEO’s smart lens development work to support highly integrated electronic systems operating within restricted physical space.
The announcement follows XPANCEO’s Series A funding round completed in July last year. The company raised $250 million in the funding round, valuing the business at $1.35 billion.
