ITHACA — MicroGen Systems, Inc. will use $2.6 million in new funding to launch production of its chip-sized power generator. The device can transform subtle vibrations into energy. MicroGen’s initial markets will include commercial and industrial monitoring. The company’s generator will power sensor networks used to watch manufacturing processes or the health of roads and […]
ITHACA — MicroGen Systems, Inc. will use $2.6 million in new funding to launch production of its chip-sized power generator.
The device can transform subtle vibrations into energy. MicroGen’s initial markets will include commercial and industrial monitoring. The company’s generator will power sensor networks used to watch manufacturing processes or the health of roads and bridges.
Manufacturing will be under way by June 2013, MicroGen co-founder and CEO Robert Andosca says. The Ithaca–based company will have pre-production samples available by the first quarter of next year.
XTRION N.V. of Belgium was the leader of the funding round, which also included some angel investors from New York state. MicroGen has also received support from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), Andosca says.
XTRION has investments in semiconductor firms and companies specializing in tiny electrical and mechanical systems. XTRION Managing Director Rudi De Winter joined MicroGen’s board of directors after the funding round.
The relationship with XTRION, which has strong ties to the semiconductor industry, will allow MicroGen to reach new markets more readily and provide resources for faster ramp up, the company says. The new funding round was MicroGen’s series A.
The company, based at the Cornell Nanoscale Science and Technology Facility, received some angel investment and grant funding from sources like NYSERDA in the past.
One of XTRION’s businesses will manufacture MicroGen’s power generator in Germany, Andosca says.
MicroGen employees in New York state will then test, assemble, and provide quality control for the company’s full device, which will include additional electronics and batteries to store energy created by the generator, Andosca explains. The firm currently has fewer than 10 employees, but Andosca expects to have 30 to 40 in New York by 2016.
MicroGen’s device also has potential applications in the transportation sector. Possible customers have expressed strong interest in using the generator to power tire-pressure sensors, a market which involves about 164 million units per year, Andosca says.
The company has also explored the use of its device at vibrations of lower frequency. Such research could eventually lead to consumer applications, including allowing a user to charge a cell phone simply by walking.
Andosca first began developing the MicroGen device while in graduate school at the University of Vermont.
MicroGen won the $200,000 grand prize in the Creative Core Emerging Business Competition earlier this year. The firm had been a finalist in the competition for the past two years before winning.
Past winners of the competition include Sound Reading Solutions, Widetronix, e2e Materials, and Mezmeriz, all based in Ithaca. The winner of the 2011 competition, BrandYourself.com, is based in Syracuse.
Contact Tampone at ktampone@cnybj.com
