'Revolutionary' LED technology secures strong investment

Lighting technology company Seren Photonics have secured £1.8 million ($2.8m) to develop and commercialize new LED technology.

Based at Sheffield University, the new technology, described by some as 'revolutionary', was developed by Professor Tao Wang.

The patent technology developed by Wang increases the efficiency of LED brightness, as it significantly reduces the generation of heat -- therefore reducing the power consumption of LED lamps, or producing far brighter products. By refining the efficiency levels of a high brightness (HB) LED, the applied voltage can convert more energy into light and generate less heat, resulting in a more effective product.

This result was achieved by bringing together low-cost blue HBLED structures and nanoscience techniques. Currently, HBLEDs range from 60 to 120 lumens per watt (lm/W). Wang's design signifies the possibility in increasing these rates to approximately 200 to 260 lm/W.

Successful demonstrations of the technology have so far resulted in increases of light output from between 80 to 120 percent, in comparison to standard LED devices.

Not only could increasing the efficiency of light production and reducing a need for cooling result in lower costs for businesses, but in the aftermath of incandescent bulbs being phased out globally, domestic and civil lighting could also take advantage of this innovative development.

A number of investors have pitched in to raise the capital required to commercialize the technology. I2BF Global Ventures invested £1.1 million ($1.7m), Fusion invested £300,000 ($474,000) and fellow AIM investment firm IP Group contributed £400,000 ($631,000).

Director Peter Grant of Fusion said:

"We remain confident that Seren can make a significant contribution to enabling the use of LEDs in a variety of different energy efficient applications where there is a continuous need to reduce power consumption and improve product performance.
With this funding in place we look forward to the company securing further deals for the use of its technology internationally."

The funding will be used to purchase equipment necessary for mass, commercial production, and in order to create a specialist engineering team to control and develop the pilot scale project, and then transfer Seren's processes to its investing manufacturer partners.

The announcement of the cash injection has arrived days after Seren Photonics signed a deal with a major LED producer in order to commercialize and develop the technology for the Indian market. Expanding into other overseas markets is already a possibility, as talks are reportedly being held with manufacturers based in China.

Image credit: Hobvias Sudoneighm

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This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com