Highlights

Contract in place with ABB

QPT were recently awarded a contract with the worlds largest supplier of industrial electric motors.

Over 5 years of R & D

Finally solving the problems that enable the use of high-speed GaN transistors to drive high-power electric motors.

With great speed comes great efficiency and power density!

Our solution is smaller, cheaper & saves more energy than rivals according to our study

Funding round led by leading GaN expert

Geoff Haynes, a GaN expert & founder of GaN Systems (recently acquired by Infineon for $830m), is the lead investor & advisor

The Problem

The speed of an electric motor is controlled by a Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs). The faster the transistors in the VFDs can switch, the more energy is saved. GaN (Gallium Nitride) transistors can switch at much faster speeds than silicon or SiC (silicon carbide), but there are major Electromagnetic and thermal issues if driven at more than 100kHz. This limits high-speed GaN transistors to lower power applications. To our knowledge, no company has enabled the use of GaN transistors in the critical area of driving electric motors.

The solution

By solving GaN’s electromagnetic and heating issues at high-speed and high-voltage, our solution is over 20x faster than even the current, next-generation silicon carbide-based solutions, and can deliver unprecedented power savings.

Faster switching also means much greater power density, meaning a smaller and lighter solution, providing additional efficiency in EVs, or simpler installation and cabling solutions in industrial applications, amongst other benefits.

High-frequency VFDs also don’t need an expensive filter between the VFD and the electric motor, meaning our solution can save costs for manufacturers and customers.

Market & Growth

Our modules target an estimated $60Bn TAM by 2030. This market is driven by heat pumps & air conditioners (HVAC), electric vehicles and industrial applications. The HVAC market is expected to grow at a CAGR 7.6% (from 2022 to 2030), EVs at a CAGR 15.9% (from 2023 to 2035) & industrial motors at a CAGR 3.9% (from 2022 to 2032). Electric motors use around 45% of the world’s electricity, so the opportunities are vast.

Business model

Our facility in Portugal can produce large numbers (up to 1m units) of modules which will be backed up by outsourcing from specialist partners that we are already in early discussions with. We also expect additional revenue to come from licensing our IP and, in the long term, selling key chips (ASICS) within our modules.

Competition

As far as we can tell, no other power engineers have been able to solve the GaN issues. Our Founder’s experienced knowledge of both power and microwave engineering enabled him to draw on these multiple disciplines to solve the challenges. Much smaller and much faster switching transistors mean that many of the challenges in creating a next-generation, GaN-based power module actually require microwave and RF engineering solutions.

Use of funds

Funds will be used to scale up production and staff plus global filing of 12 patents to further protect our technology & forming a barrier to competitors.

Investors & funding

We have currently raised around £1.69m to fund R&D. Leading the current round is GaN Systems co-founder, Geoff Haynes, an expert on GaN and power electronics

Customers

Having won ABB’s Power Density Start-up Challenge QPT have a contract with ABB to develop a next-gen motor drive with the world’s largest supplier of industrial electric motors. We also have an MoU with GaN Systems (recently acquired by Infineon) whose 650V GaN transistors are used within our qGaN module.