Pulsiv Solar Limited, a University of Plymouth spinout company, has raised £500,000 to step up development of its novel power conversion technology.
The funding is in the form of a convertible loan and includes a £250,000 investment from the UK Government's Future Fund, which was established to support innovative businesses through the COVID-19 outbreak.
That has been supported with £200,000 from the University's commercial arm, University of Plymouth Enterprise Limited (UoPEL), and £50,000 from its commercialisation partner Frontier IP.
Pulsiv is based at Plymouth Science Park and was incorporated to commercialise the work of Dr Zaki Ahmed, Associate Professor in Information Technology at the University.
Adrian Dawson, Director of UoPEL, added:
"Pulsiv is part of an exciting suite of spinout companies transforming the world-leading research undertaken at the University of Plymouth into commercially available products that can have real-world benefits. This latest success is a further demonstration that governments and industry are recognising its potential, and UoPEL is delighted to support its continued growth."
Pulsiv has achieved a number of notable successes in recent months, having started design work funded by a major multinational to incorporate its technology into a new product line. It has also engaged in discussions with a number of other large multinational companies about a wide range of further industrial applications.
The step change in industrial engagement follows the company successfully developing a series of demonstration products which show the technology not only improves energy efficiency but also has the potential to reduce costs.
It has also filed a further two priority patent applications having, in April this year, been awarded a Japanese patent - the 13th internationally covering its technology - after successfully integrating its technology into a standard battery charger.
That news came 12 months after it began working with the UK arm of global technology firm Robert Bosch GmbH, which will mean that when its prototypes moves into full-scale production, Pulsiv will be able to market the devices as 'Engineered by Bosch'.
Frontier IP chief executive officer Neil Crabb said:
"The Future Fund was established to support the UK's most innovative businesses through the coronavirus outbreak. Following the significant commercial and technical progress recently made by Pulsiv, the Government's support means we are in an even stronger position to realise the full range of opportunities open to the company's technology."
Fay Davies, Business Development Manager at Plymouth Science Park, said:
"We are delighted that a Future Fund investment has been made to support the ground-breaking work of Pulsiv Solar Limited. Sustainability is a key driver of the South West's tech sector and we look forward to supporting the commercialisation of this innovative and important technology."
