Reach - a non-regulatory announcement
AIM: FIPP
05
August 2024
Frontier IP Group
Plc
("Frontier IP" or the
"Group")
Portfolio news -
GraphEnergyTech secures £1 million pre-seed investment led by
Aramco Ventures
Frontier IP, a specialist in
commercialising intellectual property, today announces that
portfolio company GraphEnergyTech (or the "Company") has raised £1
million through the Company's first external equity funding
round.
The fundraising was led by Aramco
Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of Aramco, the world's
leading integrated energy and chemicals company. Frontier IP, a
GraphEnergyTech co-founder, now holds a 23.97 per cent equity
stake.
Proceeds will be used to accelerate
development and scale up of GraphEnergyTech's advanced
high-conductivity graphene electrodes.
The technology's initial application
is for use in solar cells, where graphene can replace silver
electrodes. Silver is the most commonly used material for
electrodes today, but the rising demand for solar power means
global reserves could be exhausted by 2050, according to research
from the University of New South Wales. It is expensive and mining
can cause devastating environmental harm. GraphEnergyTech's
electrodes also cost significantly less to manufacture than silver
electrodes.
Other applications for
GraphEnergyTech's technology include batteries, super capacitors,
LED lighting and displays.
The Company was co-founded by
Professor Michael Grätzel of the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de
Lausanne ("EPFL"), inventor of the dye-sensitised solar cell,
Professor Andrea Ferrari, founder and director of the University of
Cambridge Graphene Centre, and Frontier IP. Professor Grätzel
is ranked among the world's most cited scientists across all fields
and is behind more than 120 patents resulting from his
research.
Dr
Thomas Baumeler, GraphEnergyTech's CEO, said:
"We are very
happy with the results of the fundraising and the investment from
Aramco Ventures. The money will allow us to take development of our
advanced graphene electrodes to the next level. They have the
potential to play a part in the development of the next generation
of solar cells."
Frontier IP Chief Executive Neil Crabb said:
"The investment
from Aramco Ventures, a world leader in energy investments,
represents a strong endorsement of GraphEnergyTech's technology and
the quality of its electrodes. We are excited by the Company's
potential."
ENQUIRIES
|
Frontier IP Group Plc
|
M: 07464 546 025
|
|
Neil Crabb, Chief
Executive
Andrew Johnson, Communications &
Investor Relations
Company website: www.frontierip.co.uk
|
neil@frontierip.co.uk
M: 07464 546 025
|
|
Allenby Capital Limited (Nominated Adviser)
Nick Athanas / George
Payne
|
T: 0203 328 5656
|
About Aramco Ventures
Aramco Ventures is the corporate venturing arm
of Aramco, the world's leading fully integrated energy and chemical
enterprise. Headquartered in Dhahran with offices in North America,
Europe and Asia, Aramco Ventures' strategic venturing programs
invest globally in start-up and high growth companies with
technologies of strategic importance to its parent company, Aramco,
primarily supporting its operational decarbonization, new
lower-carbon fuels businesses, and digital transformation
initiatives. Aramco Ventures also operates Prosperity7, the
company's disruptive technologies investment program.
For more information, please
visit www.aramcoventures.com
About GraphEnergyTech
GraphEnergyTech has developed and
patented a novel process to integrate graphene electrodes into
solar cells replacing silver and other precious metals while
retaining or improving power conversion efficiencies and
reliability. The company is now working with partners to scale this
technology and bring the cost and performance benefits to all types
of solar cells and beyond.
Other potential applications of the
technology include batteries, super capacitors, LED lighting and
displays.
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.
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