A Cambridge-affiliated company is celebrating the imminent launch of innovative solar panel technology originally developed at the University.

Enecsys, launched in Cambridge in 2003, has recently secured additional funding of £2.5 million from the clean technology investment firm, Good Energies. This contribution will increase the company’s funds to a total of £8.5 million and facilitate the debut of their patented micro-inverter system.

The company designs, manufactures and markets micro-inverter products which convert DC power from individual solar panels into the AC form of electricity which is suitable for everyday usage. Currently, solar arrays rely heavily on the output from every individual panel in the structure.

This can markedly diminish the total output of energy if one panel is shaded or underperforming. Enecsys’s micro-inverter is able to convert the power from each panel individually, maximising the harvested energy from the panels and delivering up to 30% more power.

Although the benefits of this method have been long recognized, the implementation of micro-inverters has been delayed by their relatively short lifespan, which is just 15 years compared with more than 25 years for most solar panels.

"Enecsys has overcome the problem of reliability by developing a patented design that removes the short-life components from micro-inverters," said Sulaiman Ahmad, vice president for business development at Enecsys. The technology will not only increase output from solar arrays, but also make installation easier and allow users to detect underperforming panels.

Green-energy enthusiasts have hailed the launch of the system as a breakthrough in the sphere of sustainable power. Ben Blume, president of the Cambridge University Environment Consulting Society, told Varsity that “CUES is always encouraged to see Cambridge origin businesses creating innovative, practical technology with the potential for huge environmental benefit.”