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Powermat Teams With Duracell

New York – Procter & Gamble’s
battery unit Duracell and Powermat have announced a joint venture, Duracell
Powermat, which will develop and market wireless charging solutions using
Powermat technology.

The deal gives Powermat an undisclosed
sum of cash and a 45 percent interest in the venture. Proctor & Gamble will
retain a controlling 55 percent of the operation, which will co-develop and
market wireless charging devices under the Duracell Powermat brand using
Powermat’s proprietary inductive coupling charging technology. P&G will
also make an equity investment in Powermat.

Duracell currently markets its own
line of wireless chargers under the myGrid name, using “an older technology,”
said Powermat president Daniel Schreiber. “That technology will be retired,” he
added, presumably along with the myGrid product line.

The deal puts Duracell in charge of
all Powermat products for the consumer market. Powermat will continue to pursue
OEM deals, such as one announced with General Motors earlier this year, to
incorporate Powermat charging pads into vehicle interiors. 2013 model year
Chevy Volts will be the first vehicles to include the built-in wireless
charging pads, which will be located in between the front seats. Schreiber said
the company continues to have OEM talks with other suppliers, including “key
automakers and handset vendors.”

Schrieber said Powermat will also
continue to expand the rollout of its technology into public spaces, such as
major airports and transportation hubs. The company is also working with office
furniture and major appliance manufacturers to include the technology in future
products.

The venture will formally launch in
early 2012, using Powermat’s technology initially, Schrieber told TWICE. The
deal is non-exclusive, however, meaning other technologies, including the rival
Qi standard, developed by the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC), may be
incorporated into future products. Duracell has been a member of the WPC since
its inception in 2009. Powermat joined the WPC in May.

Other members of the WPC include
Energizer, HTC, LG, Nokia, Panasonic, Philips, Samsung and Sony Ericsson.

IHS iSuppli has estimated that the
worldwide retail market for wireless charging, at around $100 million is 2010,
may reach north of $20 billion by 2015, including the OEM market.

“Powermat and P&G joining forces
makes so much sense,” said Marijana Vukicevic, senior principal analyst at
iSuppli. “Adoption of wireless power is growing fast, and the marriage of a proven
technology like Powermat’s with the global marketing muscles of P&G
promises to propel consumer adoption faster yet.”

Schreiber concurred. “Procter &
Gamble has been one of the most successful consumer product companies in the
world over the last 30 years,” he said. “When they looked at the next 30 years
and tried to identify consumer demand, wireless charging was one technology
that came out on top. They were the perfect partner to advance Powermat’s
vision of ubiquitous wireless power to reality.”

Ran Poliakine, Powermat CEO, said in
a statement: “Alkaline batteries, led by Duracell, really were one of the first
wireless power sources to gain worldwide adoption by the consumer. The promise
of wireless power is similarly transformational, and there is no partner more
capable than Duracell — and its parent, P&G.”

“Several decades ago, Duracell was a
pioneer in a new revolutionary product category, alkaline round cell
batteries,” said Stassi Anastassov, Duracell president, in a statement. “In a
not-too-distant future, we expect wireless power solutions to eliminate the
hassle of multiple cords and chargers, creating a major growth opportunity.
Innovation to create new solutions that touch and improve people’s lives is
what P&G-Duracell are all about. The joint venture between Duracell and
Powermat puts us in the driver seat for this disruptive category creation.”

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