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GM venture capital arm invests in charging mat makerJan 06, 2011 (Detroit Free Press - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- General Motors' venture capital arm has invested $5 million in Powermat, which makes wireless charging mats for cell phones, and plans to include the mats in vehicles as soon as 2012. With a Powermat, consumers' phones will charge when they're lying on the mat, without using any wires from the phones. Each phone must have a special silicon chip that Powermat provides and that it's working to build into some phones. GM created its venture capital subsidiary in June with $100 million to give the automaker an edge in technology and becoming green. GM had included cell-phone charging mats in concept vehicles for a few years, but hadn't developed the mats. So GM Ventures decided to invest in Powermat in exchange for an equity stake. Powermat, headquartered in Commerce Township with research and development in Israel and production in China, holds 62% of the charging-mat market after about a year of consumer sales. After an undisclosed period of exclusivity, GM has agreed to let Powermats be installed in other automakers' cars, partially because as an equity holder, GM will benefit from Powermat's success. GM is also exploring a wireless mat that would allow electric vehicles such as the Chevrolet Volt to charge once they park over it, GM Ventures President Jon Lauckner said. Powermat's current technology is probably not best for that mat, he said, but GM hasn't decided which technology to use. To see more of the Detroit Free Press, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.freep.com Copyright (c) 2011, Detroit Free Press Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com. |