MicroGen Systems announced this week that XTRION, a
closely held holding company located in Tessenderloo, Belgium, completed the
first investment round of the company.
The reportedly oversubscribed raise was a total of $2.6 million, which
includes non-dilutive funds equaling $800,000 from a separate licensing
agreement, and a contract with the NY State Energy Research Development
Authority. XTRION has holdings in
multi-national semiconductor and MEMS companies, including a presence in the
United States, Europe and Asia.
"MicroGen's core principal devices will have a
direct positive environmental impact. XTRION believes that the MEMS-based
piezoelectric vibrational energy harvester (PZEH) technology being
commercialized by MicroGen will play a significant role in wireless sensor
markets within many different industries from industrial and automotive, to
household and consumer markets as well," said XTRION's Managing Director
Rudi De Winter.
"MicroGen is now poised to move into production of
our piezoelectric platform devices on a major scale for initial applications in
the industrial and commercial markets.
The relationship with a strong semiconductor investment house enables us
to reach markets more readily, and to have resources that will enable a faster
ramp for MicroGen," said Dr. Robert Andosca, CEO and Co-Founder.
MicroGen also announced that Mr. De Winter has become a
member of the Board of Directors of the company.
MicroGen is bringing to market a suite of products based
on its proprietary MEMS enabled piezoelectric technology. MicroGen is fabricating its devices at X-FAB
Silicon Foundries' production facility located north of Hamburg, Germany.
MicroGen's first product is a small (volume < 0.05 to
0.50 cm3; smaller than a green pea) wafer-level packaged PZEH or micro-power
generator. According to the company,
these devices are "low cost" and have "a long lifetime of more
than 20 years" that scavenge otherwise wasted ambient vibrational energy
will replace or extend the lifetime of batteries in low power wireless sensor
applications. MicroGen plans to unveil
other piezoelectric platform devices as well.
MicroGen is located in Ithaca, NY and developed its core piezoelectric
technology at Cornell University.
XTRION is the majority owner of X-FAB Silicon Foundries
AG, Melexis N.V., m-MOS Semiconductor, as well as other semiconductor
companies. XTRION is based in Tessenderlo, Belgium.