Reach - a non-regulatory announcement

AIM: FIPP

08 November 2022

Frontier IP Group Plc

("Frontier IP" or the "Group")

Portfolio news - Pulsiv announces £1.5 million equity funding round

Frontier IP, a specialist in commercialising intellectual property, today welcomes the following announcement from portfolio company Pulsiv Limited (or the "Company") that it has completed a £1.5 million fundraising through an equity funding round with new and existing investors to develop and scale up its energy-efficient power conversion technology.

The fundraising values Pulsiv at £50 million pre money. Frontier IP invested £273,000, and holds an 18.3 per cent equity stake in the Company following this.  

As previously announced by the Group, Pulsiv completed a first closing of its fundraising in July 2022. The increase in the fair value of the Group's holding in Pulsiv as a result of the fundraising was reflected in Frontier IP's audited final results which were released on 27 October 2022.

Pulsiv believes its groundbreaking technology significantly improves the energy efficiency of power supplies, battery chargers and LED lighting, and extracts much more energy from photovoltaic solar cells. Because it uses fewer components, it can be incorporated into more compact designs and is cost effective for manufacturers.

The Company has made strong commercial progress. It has recently announced a collaboration with Salom Europe, a leading manufacturer of power supplies for consumer electronics. Pulsiv has also signed strategic distribution agreements with Digikey, the world's fifth largest electronic components distributor, and Astute Electronics, which will promote the technology to manufacturers in the UK, Germany, Israel, Turkey and Australia. The Company has also announced a pan-European representative agreement with ISMOsys Group, part of Astute.

Neil Crabb, Frontier IP Chief Executive Officer, said: "We believe Pulsiv will become a major green company. Converting power more efficiently means less energy is wasted, so the technology has the potential to cut carbon emissions, reduce strain on national power grids and cut energy bills for consumers. We are delighted with the results of this funding round. "

Pulsiv statement begins:

Pulsiv raises £1.5m in latest funding round

Cambridge 08 November 2022

Pulsiv Limited ("Pulsiv"), a UK-based cleantech company announces that it has raised £1.5m through an equity funding round supported by existing shareholders, including management and Frontier IP Group plc (a founder of the business), and new angel investors. The round remains open.

Pulsiv's unique technology aims to conserve every watt of power that needs converting when consumer devices are run from a mains supply, when batteries are being charged, when LED lights are illuminated or when electricity is generated from solar panels. 

Products under the Pulsiv OSMIUM brand are designed for always-efficient power supplies. Pulsiv HORIZON technology has been developed for advanced solar micro-inverters and power optimizers. The company sells a range of system controllers that intelligently manage power conversion. Our proven reference designs will enable seamless integration by OEMs and accelerate industry adoption.

The Pulsiv OSMIUM architecture can be used in a broad range of OEM products that demand high efficiency, compact design and a low-cost bill of materials. Pulsiv OSMIUM technology exceeds the highest Energy Star standards, eliminates inrush current, reduces overall component cost/count and delivers consistent performance from no-load through to full power. Our scalable solution promotes a platform approach and economies of scale - most components remain unchanged across different designs.

Pulsiv HORIZON employs patented methods for extracting more energy from solar panels than alternative solutions, and our innovative prototype uses a unique split architecture to maximize the power generated by solar micro-inverters and power optimizers under all operating conditions. Standard reference designs will create greater competition, ensuring that future solar installations will generate maximum returns and accelerate the transition towards renewable energy.

The investment raised during this round supports the commercialization of Pulsiv OSMIUM and the ongoing development of Pulsiv HORIZON:

-     Pulsiv OSMIUM development systems are currently being manufactured to support customer evaluations and product integration.

-     Pulsiv OSMIUM reference designs will simplify the customer journey and drive mass-market adoption. 

-     Pulsiv HORIZON reference designs will demonstrate our new architecture for power optimiser and microinverters with best-on-class CEC/EU efficiency and power delivery.

Pulsiv's original concept for more efficient power conversion between AC and DC was developed  by Zaki Ahmed and spun-out of the University of Plymouth. It is protected through multiple patent families and trademarks.

A global energy transition is underway to phase out fossil fuels and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. IRENA (International Renewal Energy Agency) reports that 90% of the required carbon reductions can be achieved by switching to renewable energy sources and implementing a range of efficiency measures. Rising energy prices, concerns about energy security and inflationary pressures are also driving the need for Pulsiv technology. 

Pulsiv CEO Darrel Kingham commented: 

"We are delighted to have secured this funding given the challenging fundraising environment and full credit goes to my leadership team and our strategic partners. This shows confidence in our progress over the last 18 months, with Pulsiv OSMIUM far exceeding the original design goals and the Pulsiv HORIZON prototype producing best-in-class results.  The many benefits of our technology will challenge conventional thinking and give customers an opportunity to differentiate their products in a number of markets."

Pulsiv statement ends

ENQUIRIES

ABOUt pulsiv

Pulsiv's unique technology is enabling the electronics industry to create innovative power supply designs and best-in-class solar solutions. Using patented techniques, our intelligent controllers and supporting reference designs improve efficiency, optimize cost and maximize system performance.
We're helping the global transition to renewable energy and improving power consumption for a more sustainable future. 

ABout frontier IP

Frontier IP unites science and commerce by identifying strong intellectual property and accelerating its development through a range of commercialisation services. A critical part of the Group's work is involving relevant industry partners at an early stage of development to ensure technology meets real world demands and needs.

The Group looks to build and grow a portfolio of equity stakes and licence income by taking an active involvement in spin-out companies, including support for fund raising and collaboration with relevant industry partners at an early stage of development.

About Reach announcements

This is a Reach announcement. Reach is an investor communication service aimed at assisting listed and unlisted (including AIM quoted) companies to distribute media only / non-regulatory news releases into the public domain. Information required to be notified under the AIM Rules for Companies, Market Abuse Regulation or other regulation would be disseminated as an RNS regulatory announcement and not on Reach.