Enecsys raises £2.5m for new micro-inverters

A spin out from Cambridge University has secured £2.5m in new funding as it prepares to launch an innovative solar panel technology that promises to significantly increase power output from solar arrays.

Enecsys announced today that it has attracted £2.5m from clean tech investment firm Good Energies, taking the total funds raised since its 2003 launch to £8.5m.

Speaking to BusinessGreen.com, vice president for business development Sulaiman Ahmad, said that the company would use the money to bolster its sales and marketing operations in the US and Europe and beef up its engineering team ahead of the imminent launch of its first product.

The company has developed a patented micro-inverter for use on solar panels, which Enecsys predicts will increase the output from solar arrays by providing a more effective means of converting the direct current (DC) electricity generated by photovoltaic (PV) solar cells into grid-ready alternating current (AC) power.

Currently, most solar arrays use a single inverter to convert DC power from all the panels in the arrays. However, if one panel is shaded or underperforming the output from the entire array is diminished.

In contrast, micro-inverters ensure that the power from each panel is converted for grid use independently, increasing the total output.

The advantages of this approach have been known for decades, Ahmad explained, but the adoption of micro-inverters has been hindered by their short lifespan – just 15 years compared with more than 25 years for most PV solar panels.

"Enecsys has overcome the problem of reliability by developing a patented design that removes the short-life components from micro-inverters," he said, adding that the technology would not only increase output from solar arrays, but also make installation easier and allow users to detect underperforming panels.

The company is due to launch its first product early this year and has enough sales in the pipeline to "keep us busy for the next three years", said Ahmad