A rendering of the new PMA compatible Duracell Powermat wireless charger for the iPhone 5 being charged on a DuPont Corian kitchen countertop. (PRNewsFoto/Power Matters Alliance)

Imagine lying your mobile phone or tablet on the kitchen counter — or any countertop, from office work areas to tables — and have the device automatically start charging … no wires or wall-plugs required.

That seems to be the future for Corian® Solid Surface Countertops, which has recently joined the Power Matters Alliance (PMA) to work on creating wireless charging solutions that are embedded right into the solid surface material.

Corian® Solid Surface Countertops are already certified as environmentally friendly by the Environment GreenGuard and NBGS Green; this kind of innovation is another plus for those of us who work with solid surface — when the manufacturer is creative and innovative, we get to be creative and innovative too.

Embedding wireless power isn’t a totally new idea. Many PMA-compliant products are already being used in retail shops, malls, hair salons, and airports. General Motors plans on including them in upcoming car models. Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf just began rolling out wireless charging “stations” in their Los Angeles based stores this summer, and Starbucks is testing them out in Boston.

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