Fusion IP plc portfolio company Seren Photonics, has raised £1.8M in equity funding to enable Seren to transfer its technology to manufacturing partners around the globe. The first of these exploitation agreements was recently announced with an Indian manufacturer.
Seren’s new processing technique, developed by Professor Tao Wang from the University of Sheffield, has been shown in tests to greatly increase the efficiency at which a high brightness LED converts an applied voltage into light and significantly reduces heat generation under normal running conditions. Successful demonstrations of the patent pending technology have resulted in a significant increase of the light output compared to untreated devices, which means that either much brighter LED lamps can be manufactured or that the power consumption of LED lamps can be reduced.
Seren’s technology is targeted at the large and fast growing white light HB LED markets, such as back lighting for laptops and TVs, signs and displays, as well as domestic, architectural and street lighting. Dr Godfrey Ainsworth, Seren’s Chairman said, “This market is currently worth an estimated $7bn in 2011 and is set to grow to $20bn by 2014. HB LEDs are set to replace incandescent lamps as governments around the world bring in legislation banning the manufacture and sale of incandescents and concerns increase about the poor light quality and environmental contamination fears from compact fluorescents. The rate of adoption will accelerate as the brightness of HB LEDs increases and the cost of manufacture reduces.”
Seren’s funding round raised a total of £1.8M from a number of investors, including I2BF Global Ventures (£1,100,000), Fusion IP plc (£300,000) and IP Group plc (£400,000). The funding will be used to purchase key capital equipment for HB LED pilot scale development and create a specialist engineering team for the transfer of Seren’s processes to its commercial manufacturing partners.
Post funding Fusion will have a 40.2% undiluted shareholding in Seren.
UK, Sheffield
Fusion Corporate Partners 