Frontier IP Group Plc (LON:FIPP) said its portfolio company, Pulsiv Solar, has won a grant from Innovate UK, the government’s innovation agency, to develop its solar power technology.
The AIM-Listed firm, which specialises in commercialising university intellectual property, said Pulsiv, a spin-out of the University of Plymouth in which it holds an 18.9% stake, had been awarded £129,929 toward a £288,732 project to complete the technological development of its solar micro-inverter by April next year.
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Solar micro-inverters are plug-in devices that convert direct current electricity generated by photovoltaic cells to alternating current used in electrical grids. In laboratory conditions, Frontier said Pulsiv had demonstrated its technology was significantly more energy efficient than existing micro-inverters.
The group added that the aim of the technological development was to create a micro-inverter ready for scale-up and commercialisation providing efficiency improvements of at least 5% over current market leaders, whilst also exploring other applications including efficiency improvements in consumer devices such as TVs, mobile phones, and laptops.
Neil Crabb, Frontier IP chief executive, said: "We're very excited Pulsiv has won this Innovate UK grant to take these potentially ground-breaking micro-inverters to the next stage. We believe efficiency improvements of at least 5 per cent represent a real breakthrough, a view confirmed by the major industry groups we are talking to."