Abbreviation PMA Region served Worldwide Website www.powermatters.org | Formation March 2012 Membership Open Founded March 2012 | |
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Key people Ron Resnick (President) Type of business Industry Consortium; Technology | ||
Power Matters Alliance (PMA) is a global, not-for-profit, industry organization whose mission is to advance a suite of standards and protocols for wireless power transfer. Founded by Procter & Gamble and Powermat Technologies in March 2012, PMA is networking technology companies in order to guarantee consumers interoperable devices which employ wireless power technology. Marked by the electron "P", PMA interface standard describes analog power transfer (inductive and resonant), digital transceiver communication, cloud based power management, and environmental sustainability. The PMA board of directors includes representatives from AT&T, Duracell, Starbucks, Powermat Technologies, Flextronics, Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and Energy Star. The membership of the PMA is made up of companies across the mobile device ecosystem, including handset providers, service providers, chipset suppliers, manufacturers, test labs and public establishments.
Contents
Stated Mission
PMA leadership has been working to help diminish the divide among wireless power transfer (WPT) standards and accelerate marketplace adoption by focusing on the following two areas in 2014 as the fastest way forward: 1. Encouraging delivery of multimodal forms of WPT within single devices for an optimal consumer experience - including technical harmonization of multiple inductive WPT standards. 2. Members have made recent strides in proliferating wireless power transfer technology within automobiles and popular public infrastructure venues. The Alliance’s working theory is that if the members focus on certifying and delivering power to consumers in a mobile way to help them power up wherever they are, the wireless power transfer industry as a whole will also benefit.
PMA standard and technology
The PMA's stated mission is to formulate and advance a suite of interface standards for smart and energy-efficient transfer of wireless power. The PMA is actively publishing a suite of standards based on inductive coupling technology to provide advanced inductive and resonant power. In addition the PMA seeks to add a digital layer providing policy-setting, monitoring, and extensible APIs. The PMA manages interoperability, certification and logo programs according to these specifications.
On February 11, 2014, the Alliance for Wireless Power (A4WP) and the PMA announced that they signed an agreement calling for the following immediate next steps:
This agreement was a move toward industry consolidation of wireless charging standards. The two organisations went a step further in 2015, by announcing their intent to merge into a new organisation.
Key Features
Mark of Interoperability
The 'Electron P' mark of interoperability is required to set compatibility standards across markets and industry, and across all links in the delivery chain of the alliance. It is used by industries and companies that adopt and implement the PMA standards. It is displayed at coffee shops, clubs, hair salons, airline terminals, entertainment venues, and on mobile phone accessories.
Semi-Annual Conferences and Quarterly PlugFests
PMA conducts member conferences to provide members the chance to network with each other, participate face-to-face in the active working groups and receive the latest industry updates related to wireless charging and PMA. PMA PlugFests continuously improve the quality of the PMA Certification Program and the eco system. Members also conduct interoperability testing (at quarterly PlugFests) on various combinations of their receiver and transmitter equipment. This helps prepare members to submit their products for formalized certification testing.
Adoption
On June 11, 2014, Starbucks announced plans to provide wireless chargers at its coffeehouses in the United States and to test the wireless chargers in select European and Asian markets.