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AirFuel Wireless Charging gets Worldwide Regulatory Approval

January 05, 2016 by Jeff Shepard

AirFuel™ Alliance announces global regulatory approval and worldwide expansion of its certification program for its pan-industry solutions with a broad array of products debuting in 2016. The merging of Alliance for Wireless Power and Power Matters Alliance to become the AirFuel Alliance signifies a unifying leap forward for the entire wireless charging industry and members. AirFuel members now have regulatory approval of resonant products in the United States, China, and other major technology hubs around the world.

"This year we saw proof of an industry-wide consolidation with the merging of A4WP and PMA resulting in the consolidation of inductive and resonant solutions to ensure interoperability," said Ron Resnick, president of AirFuel Alliance. "As wireless charging continues to move towards being a standard form of charging, AirFuel Alliance will continue to be at the forefront of innovation, offering safe and efficient solutions from inductive to first-to-market resonant technology and in the future RF technologies."

AirFuel Alliance introduced the first global certification program that raises the bar on higher power ranges across the full spectrum of consumer electronic devices. This exclusive program has already certified more than 60 resonant components, some of which allow manufacturers committed to higher powered devices to bring 1- to 50-Watt devices or 1- to 70-Watt charging stations to market. The certification program provides a unified AirFuel brand, which in turn raises the bar to confirm commercial viability and trust for consumers that their products will work where they go.

As part of the continuous unifying support for both inductive and resonant magnetic wireless charging standards separately and within multimode systems, AirFuel Alliance launched the world's first ever joint inductive and resonant plugfest in October 2015 with more to come beginning in Q1 2016.

Members committed to inductive charging have saturated the consumer mobile market with devices such as the Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy Note 5, Blackberry Priv, Motorola Droid Turbo 2, and LG G3 containing the AirFuel Inductive standard technology. Starbucks has also expanded its wireless charging reach with more stations across its global locations.

For resonant technology innovation, in June 2015, member company Qualcomm announced it can wirelessly charge phones with metal rear cases. Plus, Intel showcased its higher power charging and multi-device charging system at IFA in September, handling up to 20 Watts. In October, Energous Corporation announced that it is sampling the world's first RF-to-DC rectifier IC, improving efficiency while reducing BOM costs. In June, member company Gill Electronics became the first to market with FCC certification for its TesLink® resonant charging transmitter and receiver products, followed by SRRC approval in December, paving the way for a robust ecosystem.