As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 17, 2021

Registration No. 333-            

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM S-8

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

ENERGOUS CORPORATION

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

3590 North First Street, Suite 210

San Jose, CA 95134

(Address of Principal Executive Offices) (Zip Code)

2013 Equity Incentive Plan

Employee Stock Purchase Plan

Performance Share Unit Plan

(Full Title of the Plan)

Cesar Johnston

Acting Chief Executive Officer

Energous Corporation

3590 North First Street, Suite 210

San Jose, CA 95134

(Name and Address of Agent For Service)

(408) 963-0200

(Telephone Number, including area code, of agent for service)

Copies to:

Mark A. Leahy, Esq.

Amanda L. Rose, Esq.

Fenwick & West LLP

801 California Street

Mountain View, California 94041

(650) 988-8500

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company or an emerging growth company. See definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act. ☐

CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

PART I

INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE SECTION 10(a) PROSPECTUS

The information called for by Part I of Form S-8 is omitted from this Registration Statement in accordance with Rule 428 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (“Securities Act”) and the instructions to Form S-8. In accordance with the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“Commission”) and the instructions to Form S-8, such documents are not being filed with the Commission either as part of this Registration Statement or as prospectuses or prospectus supplements pursuant to Rule 424.

PART II

INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

The Registrant hereby incorporates by reference into this Registration Statement the following documents previously filed with the Commission:

All reports and definitive proxy or information statements filed by the Registrant pursuant to Section 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act subsequent to the filing of this Registration Statement and prior to the filing of a post-effective amendment which indicates that all securities offered hereby have been sold or which de-registers all securities then remaining unsold shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference into this Registration Statement and to be a part hereof from the date of the filing of such documents, except as to documents or information deemed to have been furnished and not filed in accordance with the rules of the Commission. Unless expressly incorporated into this Registration Statement, a report furnished on Form 8-K prior or subsequent to the date hereof shall not be incorporated by reference into this Registration Statement. Any statement contained in a document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference herein shall be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this Registration Statement to the extent that a statement contained in any subsequently filed document which also is deemed to be incorporated by reference herein modifies or supersedes such statement.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

The following summary is qualified in its entirety by reference to the complete text of any statutes referred to below and the certificate of incorporation of Energous Corporation, a Delaware corporation.

Section 145 of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (the “DGCL”) permits a Delaware corporation to indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative (other than an action by

or in the right of the corporation) by reason of the fact that the person is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, against expenses (including attorneys’ fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by the person in connection with such action, suit or proceeding if the person acted in good faith and in a manner the person reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation, and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe the person’s conduct was unlawful.

In the case of an action by or in the right of the corporation, Section 145 of the DGCL permits a Delaware corporation to indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action or suit by reason of the fact that the person is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, against expenses (including attorneys’ fees) actually and reasonably incurred by the person in connection with such action, suit or proceeding if the person acted in good faith and in a manner the person reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation and except that no indemnification shall be made in respect of any claim, issue or matter as to which such person shall have been adjudged to be liable to the corporation unless and only to the extent that the Court of Chancery or the court in which such action or suit was brought shall determine upon application that, despite the adjudication of liability but in view of all the circumstances of the case, such person is fairly and reasonably entitled to indemnity for such expenses that the Court of Chancery or such other court shall deem proper.

Section 145 of the DGCL also permits a Delaware corporation to purchase and maintain insurance on behalf of any person who is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise against any liability asserted against such person and incurred by such person in any such capacity, or arising out of such person’s status as such, whether or not the corporation would have the power to indemnify such person against such liability under Section 145 of the DGCL.

Article IX of the Company’s Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation states that the Company’s directors shall not be personally liable to the Company or to its stockholders for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duty as a director, except for liability (i) for any breach of the director’s duty of loyalty to the Company or to its stockholders, (ii) for acts or omissions not in good faith or which involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law, (iii) under Section 174 of the DGCL, or (iv) for any transaction from which the director derived an improper personal benefit. If the DGCL is amended after the date hereof to authorize corporate action further eliminating or limiting the personal liability of directors, then the liability of the Company’s directors shall be eliminated or limited to the fullest extent permitted by the DGCL, as so amended.

Article X of the Company’s Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation authorizes the Company, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, to provide indemnification of (and advancement of expenses to) the Company’s directors, officers, employees and agents (and any other persons to which the DGCL permits us to provide indemnification) through bylaw provisions, agreements with such directors, officers, employees, agents or other persons, vote of stockholders or disinterested directors or otherwise, in excess of the indemnification and advancement otherwise permitted by Section 145 of the DGCL, subject only to limits created by the DGCL, with respect to actions for breach of duty to this corporation, its stockholders, and others.

Article VI of the Company’s Amended and Restated Bylaws provides that the Company shall, to the maximum extent and in the manner permitted by the DGCL, indemnify each of the Company’s directors and officers against expenses (including attorneys’ fees), judgments, fines, settlements and other amounts actually and reasonably incurred in connection with any proceeding, arising by reason of the fact that such person is or was an agent of the Company. The right to indemnification conferred by Article VI is a contract right and includes the right to be paid by the Company the expenses incurred in defending any action or proceeding for which indemnification is required or permitted following authorization thereof by the Board of Directors shall be paid in advance of the final disposition of such action or proceeding upon receipt of an undertaking by or on behalf of the indemnified party to repay such amount if it shall ultimately be determined by final judicial decision from which there is no further right to appeal that the indemnified party is not entitled to be indemnified as authorized in Article VI. The Company maintains insurance, at its expense, to protect the Company and any of our directors, officers, employees or agents against any such expense, liability or loss, whether or not we have the power to indemnify such person.

As permitted by the DGCL, the Company has entered into indemnification agreements with each of its directors and executive officers that require the Company to indemnify such persons against various actions including, but not limited to, third-party actions where such director or executive officer, by reason of his or her corporate status, is a party or is threatened to be made a party to an action, or by reason of anything done or not done by such director in any such capacity. The Company intends to indemnify directors and executive officers against all costs, judgments, penalties, fines, liabilities, amounts paid in settlement by or on behalf of such directors or executive officers and for any expenses actually and reasonably incurred by such directors or executive officers in connection with such action, if such directors or executive officers acted in good faith and in a manner they reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the Company, and with respect to any criminal proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe their conduct was unlawful. The Company also intends to advance to its directors and executive officers expenses (including attorney’s fees) incurred by such directors and executive officers in advance of the final disposition of any action after the receipt by the Company of a statement or statements from directors or executive officers requesting such payment or payments from time to time, provided that such statement or statements are accompanied by an undertaking, by or on behalf of such directors or executive officers, to repay such amount if it shall ultimately be determined that they are not entitled to be indemnified against such expenses by the Company.

The indemnification agreements also set forth certain procedures that will apply in the event of a claim for indemnification or advancement of expenses, including, among others, provisions about providing notice to the Company of any action in connection with which a director or executive officer seeks indemnification or advancement of expenses from the Company and provisions concerning the determination of entitlement to indemnification or advancement of expenses.

Not applicable.

The following exhibits are filed herewith:

A. The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes:

(1) To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement:

(i) To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act;

(ii) To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of this Registration Statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in this Registration Statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than a 20 percent change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the effective Registration Statement;

(iii) To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in this Registration Statement or any material change to such information in this Registration Statement.

Provided, however, that paragraphs (A)(1)(i) and (A)(1)(ii) do not apply if the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in periodic reports filed with or furnished to the Commission by the Registrant pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that are incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement.

(2) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new Registration Statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

(3) To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering.

B. The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each filing of the Registrant’s annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that is incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement shall be deemed to be a new Registration Statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

C. Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers or controlling persons of the Registrant pursuant to the indemnification provisions summarized in Item 6 or otherwise, the Registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the Registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the Registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the Registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of San Jose, State of California, on 17th day of September, 2021.

POWER OF ATTORNEY

KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that the undersigned officers and directors of Energous Corporation, a Delaware corporation, do hereby constitute and appoint Cesar Johnston and William Mannina, or each of them individually, the lawful attorneys-in-fact and agents with full power and authority to do any and all acts and things and to execute any and all instruments which said attorneys and agents, and any one of them, determine may be necessary or advisable or required to enable said corporation to comply with the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and any rules or regulations or requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with this Registration Statement. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing power and authority, the powers granted include the power and authority to sign the names of the undersigned officers and directors in the capacities indicated below to this Registration Statement, to any and all amendments, both pre-effective and post-effective, and supplements to this Registration Statement, and to any and all instruments or documents filed as part of or in conjunction with this Registration Statement or amendments or supplements thereof, and each of the undersigned hereby ratifies and confirms that all said attorneys and agents, or any one of them, shall do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, this Registration Statement has been signed by the following persons on behalf of the Registrant in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

EXHIBIT 5.1

September 17, 2021

Energous Corporation

3590 North First Street, Suite 210

San Jose, CA 95134

Ladies and Gentlemen:

At your request, as your counsel, we have examined the Registration Statement on Form S-8 (the “Registration Statement”) to be filed by Energous Corporation, a Delaware corporation (the “Company”) with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) on or about September 17, 2021 in connection with the registration under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), of 1,500,000 shares of the Company’s Common Stock, $0.00001 par value per share (“Common Stock”), subject to issuance by the Company upon exercise or settlement of awards to be granted under the 2013 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2013 Plan”), 700,000 shares of the Company’s Common Stock subject to issuance by the Company upon exercise or settlement of awards to be granted under the Employee Stock Purchase Plan (the “ESPP”) and 1,700,000 shares of the Company’s Common Stock the Performance Share Unit Plan (the “PSU Plan”) (collectively the shares subject to issuance by the Company upon exercise or settlement of awards to be granted under the 2013 Plan, the ESPP and the PSU Plan, the “Shares”).

At your request we are providing this letter to express our opinion on the matters set forth below in this letter (“our opinion”).

In connection with our opinion, we have examined such matters of fact as we have deemed necessary, which included examination of originals or copies of: the Company’s current Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation and its amendments and Amended and Restated Bylaws (collectively, the “Charter Documents”), the 2013 Plan, the ESPP, the PSU Plan, the Registration Statement and the exhibits thereto; certain corporate proceedings of the Company’s Board of Directors (the “Board”) and the Company’s stockholders relating to adoption or approval of the Company Charter Documents, the reservation of the Shares for sale and issuance, the filing of the Registration Statement and the registration of the Shares under the Securities Act; documents (including a certificate from the Company’s transfer agent) regarding the Company’s outstanding and reserved capital stock and other securities and such other documents as we have deemed advisable, and we also have examined such questions of law as we have considered necessary.

In our examination of documents for purposes of this opinion, we have assumed, and express no opinion as to, the authenticity and completeness of all documents submitted to us as originals, the genuineness of signatures on documents reviewed by us, the conformity to originals and the completeness of all documents submitted to us as copies, the legal capacity of all parties executing any documents (other than the Company), the lack of any undisclosed termination or modification or waiver of any document, the absence of any extrinsic agreements or documents that might change or affect the interpretation or terms of documents, and the due authorization, execution and delivery of all documents by each party thereto other than the Company. We have also assumed that any certificates or instruments

representing the Shares, when issued, will be executed by the Company by officers of the Company duly authorized to do so. In rendering our opinion, we have also relied upon a Certificate of Good Standing dated September 17, 2021 issued by the Delaware Secretary of State with respect to the Company) and representations and certifications made to us by the Company, including without limitation representations in a Management Certificate addressed to us of even date herewith that the Company has available a sufficient number of authorized shares of Common Stock that are not currently outstanding or reserved for issuance under other outstanding securities or plans of the Company, to enable the Company to issue and deliver all of the Shares as of the date of this letter.

We render this opinion only with respect to, and we express no opinion herein concerning the application or effect of the laws of any jurisdiction other than, the existing Delaware General Corporation Law now in effect. We express no opinion with respect to the securities or “blue sky” laws of any state.

Based upon, and subject to, the foregoing, it is our opinion that when the Shares of Common Stock that may be issued and sold by the Company upon exercise or settlement of awards to be granted under the 2013 Plan, the ESPP and the PSU Plan, have been issued and sold by the Company against the Company’s receipt of payment therefor (in an amount and type of consideration not less than the par value per Share) in accordance with the terms (including without limitation payment and authorization provisions) of the 2013 Plan, the ESPP and the PSU Plan, and have been duly registered on the books of the transfer agent and registrar for the Shares in the name or on behalf of the holders thereof, such Shares will be validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable.

We consent to the use of this opinion as an exhibit to the Registration Statement and further consent to all references to us, if any, in the Registration Statement, the prospectus constituting a part thereof and any amendments thereto. We do not thereby admit that we are within the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Securities Act or the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder. This opinion is intended solely for use in connection with issuance and sale of the Shares subject to the Registration Statement and is not to be relied upon for any other purpose. In providing this letter, we are opining only as to the specific legal issues expressly set forth above, and no opinion shall be inferred as to any other matter or matters. This opinion is rendered on, and speaks only as of, the date of this letter first written above, and does not address any potential change in facts or law that may occur after the date of this opinion letter. We assume no obligation to advise you of any fact, circumstance, event or change in the law or the facts that may hereafter be brought to our attention, whether or not such occurrence would affect or modify any of the opinions expressed herein.

Very truly yours,

/s/ Fenwick & West LLP

FENWICK & WEST LLP

Exhibit 23.1

INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM’S CONSENT

We consent to the incorporation by reference in this Registration Statement of Energous Corporation on Form S-8 of our report dated March 24, 2021, with respect to our audits of the financial statements of Energous Corporation as of December 31, 2020 and 2019 and for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 appearing in the Annual Report on Form 10-K of Energous Corporation for the year ended December 31, 2020.

/s/ Marcum LLP

Marcum LLP

Melville, NY

September 17, 2021