AirFuel Adds Ten New Members to Wireless Charging Alliance, Including Huawei

Wireless charging designers AirFuel Alliance at MWC 2017 announced ten new members to its ever-growing list including Huawei and Bose. Apart from announcing the members, the company also launched new AirFuel-enabled wireless charging products and solutions.

New members who have joined AirFuel in recent months include Bose Corporation, GaN Systems, Gengee, Handeholder Products, Inc, Huawei, Metaboards, Ltd., Motorola Solutions, Redpine Signals, Inc., Shenzhen Hongizsheng Technology Co., and Zonecharge WirelessPower Technology Co.

Wireless charging as a concept has been talked about in recent years. AirFuel has been trying to increase its reach and have companies adopt its wireless standards. Companies like Samsung and LG have shown interest in the technology, which includes inductive, resonant, and RF. Apple is rumoured to use one of them for its upcoming iPhone, after recently joining the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC).

In fact, LG's newest G6 flagship smartphone that was unveiled at MWC 2017 includes support for AirFuel's inductive wireless charging standard. This means that the flagship can be charged wirelessly at home and at public venues like Starbucks, AirFuel says in its press release.

Gill Electronics is another company that uses AirFuel's resonant specification to power two infrastructure solutions - Kimball Office and OFS Brands. Meanwhile, Chargifi also announced an IoT platform based on AirFuel specification "that turns wireless power into a service, adding value for manufacturers, managed service providers, venues and users alike."

"This is going to be a watershed year for wireless charging," said Ron Resnick, President, AirFuel Alliance. "In addition to inductive, expect to see significant adoption of resonant wireless charging and the introduction of RF technology. The commercialisation of wireless charging is not going to be driven by one company or one technology. At AirFuel, our members are working together to create an ecosystem that will support true, widespread adoption based upon best use case."

The ten new members announced join existing members including Dell, Duracell, Energous, Gill Electronics, MediaTek, ON Semiconductor, Powermat Technologies, Qualcomm Inc., Samsung Electronics, Semtech, Starbucks and WiTricity.