QPT in with the in crowd as it targets $60bn motor drives market
The Cambridge company had sailed past its initial £600k Crowdcube goal at the time of writing with more than £724,167 raised. QPT’s total addressable market is tipped to be valued at around $60 billion within six years or so.
QPT, a specialist in developing next generation GaN-based motor drives, is guiding a new era in the sector and expects to really start taking off when its recently appointed CEO, Rupert Baines, takes the helm at the start of April. Baines is a ‘veteran’ of the semiconductor industry having held C-level roles including CEO of UltraSoC – sold to Siemens for an undisclosed sum – and CMO of processor design specialist Codasip, also based in Cambridge.
QPT is banging on an already open door: Electric motors use up to 45 per cent of the world’s energy. QPT's solution is designed to reduce this by 10 per cent and slash energy consumption and CO2 emissions.
Using Gallium Nitride (GaN) transistors are the key, the company says. And QPT believes it is the first venture to solve the problems that currently prevent their effective use.
The Crowdcube raise forms part of a wider round in which the company has already secured more than £474k – regarded as further additional investment alongside the crowdfunding element.
Electric motors are controlled by Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs). The faster the transistors in the VFDs, the more energy is saved. GaN transistors can switch at much faster speeds than silicon or SiC but QPT sees RF and thermal issues if driven at more than 100kHz.
By solving GaN’s RF and heating issues, QPT’s solution is ~23x faster than the current SiC approach and aims to deliver unprecedented power savings. Its modules seek to address an estimated $60 billion total addressable market by 2030.
A company source stated: “We believe our facility can produce large numbers (up to 1m units) of modules which will be backed up by outsourcing. We also expect additional revenue to come from licensing our IP and selling key chips.”
