Pulsiv Solar Limited has been granted a patent in Japan, further strengthening its intellectual property position.

The University of Plymouth spin out has also successfully integrated its technology into a standard battery charger, used by a host of devices such as power tools, significantly improving its energy efficiency and attracting strong interest from potential industry partners.   

In laboratory conditions, Pulsiv improved the power factor of the charger to over 90 per cent, and reduced the heat generated by the charger. The Pulsiv circuit board comfortably fits into the same form factor as the standard battery charger circuit board. The Company has already demonstrated applications of the technology to improve the energy efficiency of photovoltaic solar cells and power converters used in many everyday devices, such as computers and televisions.

The Japanese patent award is the 13^th granted globally for the Company’s technology. Others have been awarded in the United States, Europe, China, Taiwan, Australia and Mexico. A further patent is proceeding to grant in China. 

Robert Bosch Limited, a subsidiary of Robert Bosch GmbH, has been working with Pulsiv to optimise the design of the Company’s energy-efficient solar micro inverter prototype. When the prototype moves into full-scale commercial production, it will allow Pulsiv to market micro-inverters as “Engineered by Bosch”.

The patents granted include those covering both the power conversion and solar microinverter technologies.

The Company has also received a £129,929 grant from Innovate UK, the UK’s Innovation agency.

Frontier IP holds an 18.9 per cent equity interest in Pulsiv.