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Two Wireless Power Giants Merge

Las Vegas – The Alliance for Wireless Power (A4WP) and Power Matters Alliance (PMA) have signed a letter of intent to merge.

The newly formed group intends to “accelerate the availability and deployment of wireless charging technology on a global scale,” through the continued availability of products using the A4WP’s Rezence standard used in products from suppliers such as WiTricity, as well as the PMA standard currently driving charging solutions from companies including Duracell and Powermat.

The latest consolidation leaves two major industry groups to compete in the inductive charging pad space: the A4WP/PMA and the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC) which is behind the Qi standard.

In a joint statement the groups said one of the main objectives of the new organization is to accelerate the transition to volume economies of scale of wireless power transfer technology to benefit consumers, mobile network operators, consumer-facing commercial and retail brands, and the consumer electronics industry, including its semiconductor and manufacturing partners. 

“The ‘standards war’ narrative presents a false choice,” said Kamil Grajski, A4WP chairman/president.  “Consider that the typical mass-market smartphone contains a multiplicity of radio technologies, such as Bluetooth, NFC, Wi-Fi, 3G, LTE, each built around a vibrant ecosystem, whereas other devices are single-mode (Bluetooth headset).  The A4WP PMA merger is in the same spirit: enable the market to apply technologies to their best use cases.”

“The key to volume economics is to combine best-in-class wireless power transfer technology with innovative Cloud-based network services,” said Ron Resnick, PMA president. “The best-in-breed combination of A4WP and PMA assures decision-makers throughout the industry of responsible stewardship of these essential contributing technologies.” 

Under terms of the letter, the new entity will operate under a to-be-announced new name. The A4WP and PMA Boards will combine. The merger is expected to close by mid-2015.

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