Frontier IP Group Plc (LON:FIPP) Chief Executive Officer Neil Crabb and Portfolio Manager Rui Andres caught up with DirectorsTalk for an exclusive interview to discuss the Pulsiv Solar announcement, the Innovate UK technology grant and what else is happening in the Frontier IP portfolio.
Q1: Rui, if I can start with you. Can you explain for us what Pulsiv Solar is and what was announced?
A1: Pulsiv Solar is a company that was set up to commercialise the technology developed by Dr Zaki Ahmed at the School of Computing, Electronics and Mathematics at the University of Plymouth. He basically developed a new way of tracking the solar energy coming out of photovoltaic modules in a new innovative way that is able to generate more energy out of the modules.
What we have announced is we have got a grant from the government agency Innovate UK and that amounts to a total of £289,000 for the project of which £130,000 are for Pulsiv.
Neil: So, I think this is, from the wider group context, I think it’s an important milestone, it’s worth remembering that these grants are competitively assessed so it’s both useful financially but also, I think a validation of where we’re at with the technology development. Once that development is complete, we’ll move on to the next stage of scale up and full commercialisation.
Q2: What’s the technology that the Innovate UK grant will help to develop?
A2: So, solar power micro-inverters, they are used to extract energy out of solar modules and convert them into alternate currents, so the energy extracted from the modules can be put into the electric grid. What Dr Zaki Ahmed has shown is that, under lab conditions, we were able to extract much more energy out of the modules, but we need to complete the micro-inverters, so the energy goes to the grid and if we are able to achieve at least 5% of more energy then we are talking about a complete breakthrough in the market. With that, we can address new markets and with the right player we’ll be able to transform the industry.
Neil: So, a link to that obviously is, as Rui says, it’s potentially disruptive and because of the retrofit potential as well we’ve had discussions running in parallel with a number of potential partners who could hep support the commercialisation and we look forward to updating people in in due course, as that progresses.
Q3: What else are Pulsiv doing?
A3: The same technology developed for micro-inverters can be used in a wide range of other things like power converters, consumer devices like televisions, mobile phones, laptop amongst other things. Dr Zaki is working on a new application to increase the efficiencies of these devices.
Q4: Neil, where does Frontier IP Group fit in?
A4: So, we’re a 19% shareholder in the company and essentially, our role is to find the right industrial partners and to make sure that the technology is actually aligned with real-world needs. Once that’s aligned and we’ve found the right partners, of whom we’re talking to several, that it can be scaled for mass production as well.
Rui: We have also supported Pulsiv in, amongst other things, running the business, doing the fundraising, writing the grant and making sure all the documentation were in place and we have also supported Pulsiv to close an agreement with one of the largest renewable players worldwide.
Q5: Rui, what else is happening in the Frontier IP Group’s portfolio?
A5: Well, currently, we have a very exciting portfolio so for example, you can find Fieldwork Robotics which is another spin-off from Plymouth University that have developed an agricultural robot to harvest soft fruit and vegetables. With this company, we are close to have a collaboration agreement with the leading grower in the market.
Another company we have in our portfolio is Molendotech, that’s basically developed a very fast and cheap kit to detect faecal matter in water, this product has been launched by, or together with, Palintest who are a subsidiary of FSTE 100 Halma Group. As we have announced, we have several collaborations in Portugal and we have seen a lot of very exciting opportunities arising from there.
Neil: Just extending that a little, as mentioned in the Daily Express earlier in the week, we’re getting close to completing a significant fundraising for Alusid which makes recycled surfaces from waste glass and ceramic from a range of industrial partners.
So, overall, I think we’re very encouraged with the progression of the portfolio and how that developing and additionally, the opportunities both in the UK and beyond on continental Europe.
