FAST FACTS
FOUNDER(S):
George Whitesides
Ralph Nuzzo
John Rogers
INNOVATION(S):
Energy Technologies/Renewable Energy
EMPLOYEES:
30
HEADQUARTERS:
Durham, NC
FOUNDED:
2005
TSC MEMBER INSTITUTION(S):
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
FUNDING AGENCY(S):
Department of Defense
Department of Energy
National Science Foundation
STATUS:
Private
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SEMPRIUS
ABOUT THE COMPANY:
Semprius is developing low cost, high performance concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) modules to make solar power generation economically viable in sunny, dry climates. The company’s unique micro-transfer printing technology enables CPV modules with high performance, high reliability and low cost with scalability to high-volume production.
Semprius is also licensing its micro-transfer printing technology for non-solar applications to enable a wide variety of new products requiring large-area, thin, lightweight form factors, unprecedented performance, high reliability and low cost. Applications include flat-panel displays, flexible electronics, large-area sensors, RF devices and other applications requiring heterogeneous integration of high-performance semiconductors. The company won the coveted Spin-out of the Year Award from the Council for Entrepreneurial Development in 2007, the Wall Street Journal Technology Innovation Award in 2006, and was a recipient of a National Science Foundation Small Business Innovation Research Phase I Grant in 2007. Semprius closed a $6.4 million Series B round of venture funding in June 2009.
UNIVERSITY-BASED RESEARCH CONNECTION:
While solar energy is not new, the challenge today is to make solar energy more affordable, streamlined and powerful. Semprius has an advantage in this area because of a micro-transfer printing technology invented by company founder John Rogers. Rogers is a professor of Engineering and Chemistry at the University of Illinois in the Nanoelectronics and Biophotonics group. His technology allows transfer printing of high performance semiconductors onto virtually any surface, including, glass, flexible or rigid plastic, metal or other semiconductors.
ROLE OF FEDERAL RESEARCH FUNDING:
The work of Professor Rogers has been supported by the Department of Energy, National Science Foundation and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), part of the Department of Defense.
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SEMPRIUS