The Alliance for Wireless Power (A4WP) and Power Matters Alliance (PMA) have followed up their previously announced merger announcement with a new name and brand identity: AirFuel Alliance.
The new consortium said it will continue to accelerate the impact of wireless power transfer technology through inductive, resonant, and other future standards to benefit consumers, mobile network operators, consumer-facing commercial and retail brands, and the consumer electronics industry, including its semiconductor and manufacturing partners.
After a suitable grace period, the brands associated with the former A4WP and PMA will be retired. From that point, certified products will carry the AirFuel name and logo, which the group intends to make synonymous with fast, convenient, and readily available wireless charging.
“The new brand allows for a clear, concise idea of what AirFuel Alliance envisions wireless charging to achieve – a better user experience through the development of shared wireless charging standards available on a global scale wherever consumers may go,” the group said in a statement.
“AirFuel technology is the next step in fast-tracking the commercialization of wirelessly charged products,” said Ron Resnick, president of AirFuel Alliance. “We embrace a new, inclusive ideal of wireless charging and those member companies within AirFuel Alliance are energized towards bringing wireless power products to consumers globally.”
As inductive and resonant technologies advance, AirFuel Alliance continues to support the use of multimode systems – ones that operate with both versions of the standard. The alliance is also developing technologies that go beyond the use of magnetics via the uncoupled working group.
The Alliance, operating as a unified organization since June, has fully integrated its teams and committees. In October, the alliance hosted the world’s first joint inductive and resonant “plugfest,” where 14 companies tested more than 40 receivers and transmitters to gauge compliance and commercial acceptance.
The AirFuel Alliance now has 195 member companies, including board of directors companies AT&T, Broadcom, Duracell, Flextronics, Gill Electronics, Integrated Device Technologies, Intel, MediaTek, ON Semiconductor, Powermat Technologies, Qualcomm, Samsung Electronics, Samsung Electro-Mechanics, Semtech, Starbucks and WiTricity.
The uniting of A4WP and PMA under the Air- Fuel name leaves one primary competing standard for wireless resonance charging, the Qi standard supported by the Wireless Power Consortium.
