Disrupting the energy sector
Commercialisation of Dr Zaki Ahmed’s pioneering power technology is fast tracking developments to significantly increase energy delivered to the grid
Commercialisation of Dr Zaki Ahmed’s pioneering power technology is fast tracking developments to significantly increase energy delivered to the grid via solar power, as well as improve the energy efficiency of everyday devices.
PulsiV, a spin-out company of the University, was incorporated to develop Zaki’s breakthrough research and take it from the lab to a patented commercial application.
The technology, which uses high frequency, pulsed-power extraction techniques to harvest more efficient energy, can be applied to commercial solar farms through to household electrical appliances.
Originally developed for use in solar micro inverters, it can be used in new installations or retrofitted to existing solar panels, with the potential to supply at least five per cent more energy to the grid than current market leaders.
Based at the Plymouth Science Park, the start-up was backed with funding led by the University’s IP commercialisation partner, Frontier IP Group plc, who were instrumental in ensuring that the mix of investors and the level of funding matched the needs of the business plan.
PulsiV also engaged the support of the European Regional Development Funded programme, Environmental Futures and Big Data Impact Lab, to create a data visualisation that illustrated PulsiV’s output compared to industry competition. Demonstrating clear competitive edge, the potential of the technology was recognised by global technology firm Robert Bosch GmbH, leading to a commercial agreement being signed with Bosch UK in 2019.
“We have been assured by a global leader in the renewables space that this improvement could be disruptive to the industry.”
Dr Zaki Ahmed
The partnership has enabled the technology to advance from the laboratory to a commercial setting, with the PulsiV team working with Bosch to optimise the design of its solar micro-inverter prototype and move towards full-scale production.
The collaboration with Bosch, backed by grant funding from Innovate UK, also allows for further commercial exploration of the technology to be used to improve energy efficiency across a wide range of consumer devices, such as televisions, mobile phones and laptops. Additionally, PulsiV are working on new technology for LED lighting to reduce energy storage requirements, leading to a more flexible end-product for market.
The PulsiV technology is proving to have multiple commercial applications, leading the way in how power is generated, converted and supplied in everyday life and ultimately providing more energy efficient, sustainable options to the end user. The ERDF project, Sustainability Hub: Low Carbon Devon project will be supporting PulsiV to take some of these ideas forward.
PulsiV was granted its 13th patent in April 2020 from Japan, adding to its previously awarded patents for both the power conversion and solar micro inverter technologies, in Europe, China, Taiwan, Australia, Mexico and the notoriously difficult United States market . A further patent is pending in China.