Anvil Semiconductors, a spinout from the University of Warwick’s technology commercialization business, Warwick Ventures, has declared its idea to develop smaller sized efficient power converters that will use novel Silicon Carbide (SiC) semiconductor switches.
The company has obtained £125,000 as investment from Minerva, a private investor and £25,000 from the Early Advantage Fund of Midven. The Technology Strategy Board has also granted an unrevealed amount as R&D grant.
Unlike conventional silicon devices, the new SiC devices are designed to endure higher level voltages and currents and perform 10 times quicker than those devices. But the production of SiC device is 10 times more expensive thus preventing their widespread usage. Anvil is anticipated to make considerable improvements in its functional efficiency, to reduce its size and to cut down its production costs for its widespread use in wind turbines, solar PV cells and electric cars. The global market for the devices is estimated to be around $25bn.
For the purpose of refining the technology and commercializing the production of the device, Anvil will utilize the five patents licensed to it by the University. It will also become the first private company to start utilizing a semiconductor built with an investment of £10m utilizing the grants received from the Science City Research Collaboration.
Professor Mawby, one of the developers of the technology at Anvil, has said that the semiconductors have a range of usages in electronic equipment and the technological designs being developed in them will bring overall reduction in energy usage by means of improving the electric car’s efficiency, improvement in renewable power generation and the grid. He added that the company is making efforts to make the technology marketable.
Source: http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/