Pulsiv complete £1.5m fundraising and appoints CEO

RNS Number : 5011Z

Frontier IP Group plc

24 May 2021

 

Reach - a non-regulatory announcement

AIM: FIPP

24 May 2021

Frontier IP Group Plc

("Frontier IP" or the "Group")

Portfolio news - Pulsiv completes £1.5 million fundraising and appoints Chief Executive Officer to oversee scale-up of unique power conversion technology

Frontier IP, a specialist in commercialising intellectual property, today notes the following announcement from portfolio company Pulsiv ("Pulsiv" or the "Company"). To accelerate development, prepare for scale up and deploy its unique power conversion technology, the Company has:  

· appointed Darrel Kingham as Chief Executive Officer. Darrel previously held several senior roles for Arm Limited ("Arm") and has joined Pulsiv from Aixtron, where he was General Manager

· appointed Associate Professor Dr Zaki Ahmed full time as Chief Strategy Officer from his post at the University of Plymouth

· announced that Tim Moore, Executive Vice President of Shark Robotics, SharkNinja as a non-executive director to the Pulsiv Board of Directors from 1^st June 2021. Tim is a former CTO for premium haircare consumer goods group ghd

· changed the Company's name from Pulsiv Solar to Pulsiv to reflect the much wider range of potential applications of its technology

· completed a second tranche of its equity funding round, raising a further £620,000, to bring the total of new money raised to £1.5 million. In addition, as previously announced, £500,000 of loans plus accrued interest have been converted as part of the UK government's Future Fund scheme and the Group has converted an additional of £165,000 of existing debt plus accrued interest into equity.

Neil Crabb, Frontier IP Chief Executive Officer, said: "We are delighted to have attracted someone of Darrel's calibre as Chief Executive of Pulsiv. The Company is now at an important stage and we believe Darrel is the right person to take it forward through the next phase of its development. Tim's deep understanding of the electronics industry will also prove invaluable to the Company as it develops."

Pulsiv statement begins:

Pulsiv raises £1.5 million and appoints Chief Executive Officer to oversee scale-up of unique power conversion technology

Pulsiv ("Pulsiv" or the "Company") today announces steps to strengthen its team with the appointment of former Arm Limited ("Arm") and Aixtron Limited executive Darrel Kingham as Chief Executive Officer and Associate Professor Zaki Ahmed as Chief Strategy Officer.  Tim Moore, Executive Vice President of Shark Robotics, will join the Pulsiv Board of Directors as a non-executive director on 1^st June 2021.

The Company has also completed a second tranche of its equity funding round, raising a further £620,000, to bring the total raised to £1.5 million.

To reflect the much wider range of potential applications for the technology, the Company has changed its name from Pulsiv Solar to Pulsiv.

With a mission to "Make the most efficient use of electricity wherever it is converted", Pulsiv will use the money to deliver unique solutions with a lasting economic and environmental impact.

A trend towards global sustainability is driving the need for smarter and more energy-efficient products. Consumers also expect battery powered equipment to last longer on a single charge, faster battery charging and domestic appliances that cost less to run. Pulsiv has shown that all of this can be achieved in smaller, lighter and more cost-effective designs by exploiting some fundamentally new power conversion techniques.

Pulsiv's technology can be used in any mains-powered product, battery chargers, lighting applications, electric vehicles, portable power tools and DC motors. The Company is also working with Bosch on a new microinverter to generate maximum power from photovoltaic solar cells in a more economical way.

An electronic engineer by training, Darrel has extensive experience in developing technology, growing corporate business units and leading successful sales operations.

Darrel's most recent role was as General Manager for Aixtron, a German-based provider of deposition equipment to semiconductor manufacturers. In this role, he was responsible for the business unit focused on Graphene and carbon nanomaterials technology.

Before Aixtron, Darrel held a variety of senior roles for semiconductor IP group Arm for more than 10 years, including General Manager of Arm China, VP Licensing Operations and VP European sales. He has a first-class degree in electronic engineering from the University of Central England in Birmingham.

He joins Pulsiv at a stage when the Company has proven technology, significant industry traction and the necessary funds to accelerate growth. As Pulsiv Chief Executive, Darrel will be responsible for overseeing the next stage of the Company's evolution.

Dr Zaki Ahmed, who developed Pulsiv's technology, has left his post at the University of Plymouth, where he was Associate Professor of Information Technology, to work full time for the Company.

Tim has extensive experience at senior levels with electrical groups. Before joining household electronics group SharkNinja, he was CTO, for premium haircare consumer goods group ghd.

Pulsiv's technology has very broad applicability because it improves the efficiency with which alternating current, AC, is converted into direct current, DC, and vice versa. Such power conversion is a ubiquitous requirement in electrical products. While electricity supply is AC, the electronics in most household goods operate using DC at a range of different voltages; conversely, in power generation, photovoltaic solar cells generate DC electricity which needs to be converted into AC to be exported onto the grid or used in the home.

The Company is a spin out from the University of Plymouth.

Darrel Kingham, Pulsiv Chief Executive Officer, said: "I'm excited by the opportunity to deploy another British innovation on a global scale. Pulsiv's technology has shown impressive results and we're ready to push the boundaries of product design with pioneering brands."

Dr Tim Moore, ex-CTO ghd; Executive Vice President, Shark Robotics, and Pulsiv non-executive director, said:   "Pulsiv's technology has the potential to make a real difference across a very wide range of electrical applications through improving power output and the efficiency of electricity conversion leading to reduced bills and better products. I believe this technology will become ubiquitous and hence am delighted to be helping the Company with the next stages of its development."

Dr Zaki Ahmed, Pulsiv Chief Strategy Officer, said: "Pulsiv has a great opportunity to become a significant green technology company by making power conversion more efficient. Now is the right time for me to work full time for the Company."

Pulsiv statement ends

ENQUIRIES

Frontier IP Group Plc	T: 020 7332 2338
Neil Crabb, Chief Executive Andrew Johnson, Communications & Investor Relations Company website: www.frontierip.co.uk	[e-mail] M: 07464 546 025
Allenby Capital Limited (Nominated Adviser) Nick Athanas / George Payne	T: 0203 328 5656

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.

Frontier IP is the commercialisation partner for the University of Plymouth.

ABOUT THE UNIVERSITY OF PLYMOUTH

The University of Plymouth is renowned for high quality, internationally leading education, research and innovation.

With a mission to Advance Knowledge and Transform Lives, Plymouth is a *top 50 research university with clusters of world class research across a wide range of disciplines including marine science and engineering, medicine, cybersecurity and psychology. A three-time winner of the Queen's Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education, most recently in 2020 in respect of its pioneering research on microplastics pollution in the oceans and its impact on the environment and changing behaviour, the University continues to grow in stature and reputation.

It has a strong track record for teaching and learning excellence and has one of the highest numbers of National Teaching Fellows of any UK university. With over 19,000 students, and a further 9,500 studying for a Plymouth degree at partner institutions in the UK and around the world, and over 135,000 alumni pursuing their chosen careers globally, it has a growing global presence.

http://www.plymouth.ac.uk

* Research Fortnight Research Power League Table 2014.

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