Powermat and Helsinki-based PowerKiss, representing conflicting standards in...

Powermat and Helsinki-based PowerKiss, representing conflicting standards in the wireless power industry, announced Tuesday they have agreed to join forces under the Powermat Technologies umbrella. As part of the agreement, the companies have committed to the PMA (Power Matters Alliance) standard supported by AT&T, Procter & Gamble, Starbucks, Google and the Department of Energy, among others. P&G’s retail charging products are sold under the Duracell Powermat brand. One goal of the agreement is to provide a consistent public charging experience to consumers in the U.S. and Europe, Ran Poliakine, CEO of Powermat, told Consumer Electronics Daily. “We are trying to eliminate ambiguity about standards,” Poliakine said, saying consumers expect their wireless phones to work when traveling between countries and should be able to expect the same kind of seamless charging options as well. Powermat has more than 1,500 charging spots in the U.S. located in airports, coffee shops, malls and arenas. In Europe, more than a thousand PowerKiss charging spots are in more airports, hotels and cafés, including McDonald’s Europe locations, the companies said. Poliakine said Powermat has invested more than $100 million in the technology and will continue to invest with the vision that PMA charging spots in the future will be as ubiquitous as Wi-Fi hotspots. Consumers carrying their cell phones “will expect to get power without any hassle in any public venue they go into,” he said. Today, public places where consumers can charge wirelessly “are dominated by PMA,” Poliakine said. The standard isn’t just about the magnetic connections, he said; a standard means “it’s useful for consumers and they have a place to charge.” He added that in the last five months, several prominent device manufacturers have joined PMA, whose ranks now include Samsung, NEC, Sharp, Huawei, TCL, Kyocera, LG and BlackBerry. Apple is not a part of PMA.