The world's best light harvesting technology
Lightricity has unique indoor PV technology that is up to 6 x more efficient than the nearest commercially available competition under low light levels. This enables the powering of devices not previously possible, the reduction of PV area needed on very small wireless devices, and improved performance of traditional solar applications.
The leader in light energy harvesting
The Lightricity team has developed the world’s best photovoltaic energy harvester for indoor light environments.
The Lightricity technology was originally developed in 2012 at Sharp Laboratories of Europe in Oxford, building on 50 years of innovation.
Lightricity Ltd was founded in 2017 to develop and commercialise its world-leading energy harvesting technology.
Meet Our Team
PhD, Matthias Kauer, Managing Director
Before becoming a co-founder of Lightricity, Matthias Kauer was a Research Manager in the Energy & Environment Group at SHARP Laboratories of Europe.
He has a PhD in physics from the University of Cambridge and over 15 years of industrial experience in optoelectronic device R&D with companies in the UK (SHARP Laboratories) and the US (Bell Labs). During his career at SHARP, he has managed business-funded R&D projects in optoelectronics, solar & renewable energy; Innovate UK/TSB-funded collaborative R&D projects, EU Framework projects, and industry-academia R&D projects.
Matthias has also managed and developed large teams of scientists, engineers, and non-technical staff, with responsibility for interviewing, hiring people, and developing company policies. He has a track record of technology transfer to mass production in factories in Europe and elsewhere. He is a senior member of the IEEE, has 39 journal publications, and 42 patent applications.
Mathieu Bellanger, Technical Director
Before co-founding Lightricity, Mathieu Bellanger was a Senior Researcher/Project Lead at SHARP Laboratories of Europe. He holds a degree in physics and engineering from the French “Grande école” Institut National des Sciences Appliquées (INSA) of Toulouse, along with a master’s degree in Nanophysics from the University of Paul Sabatier (Toulouse).
With over 9 years of experience at SHARP, he has worked on various R&D projects covering a wide range of photovoltaic device technologies, for flat plate, CPV, space, and IoT applications.
As one of the main inventors of the PV energy harvester, he has led the development and prototyping of this EH technology and successfully transferred it to mass manufacturing facilities. He has also secured a high level of funding and led several UK and European collaborative projects within SHARP and Lightricity.
Advisory Board
Prof. Ian Page, Business Developer
Ian Page is the Business Development Director of Seven Spires Investments, a private venture fund that invests in high-tech companies.
After gaining degrees in both Electronics and Systems Engineering from the University of London, he worked on innovative parallel and real-time computing systems in large UK computer companies.
In 1976, he moved into academia, where he researched highly interactive computer systems and led several successful research projects, one of them resulting in the spinout from Oxford University of a pioneering ‘hardware compilation’/FPGA company in 1996.
In 2003, he co-founded Seven Spires Investments and serves as a board member for several of its portfolio companies. He has held Visiting Professorship and Entrepreneur in Residence posts at several UK universities and hopes to bring to Lightricity a wealth of experience in UK early-stage technology companies and to leverage his wide professional network to help grow and scale up this exciting business.
PhD, Ian Thompson, Commercialisation, Finance and HR Expert
Ian Thompson has a wealth of experience in bringing new technologies to market across a broad range of industry sectors, from oil and gas to specialist electronic materials to consumer electronics.
Following a PhD in Materials Engineering at Imperial College, Ian’s career has been spent developing and commercialising products for BP, Cookson Group, TAM Ceramics, and SHARP. Ian has international experience in Europe, the USA, and Japan.
Recent positions included Founder of Buckingham Technologies Ltd, Managing Director of SHARP Laboratories of Europe Ltd, non-Executive Director of Faradion Ltd, and Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Oxfordshire Science Festival Ltd.
Ian has joined Lightricity to create an organisation and business development strategy for realising the commercial potential of Lightricity’s world-leading technology. Ian also has extensive experience in HR, staff recruitment, team building, and creating company values and policies.
PhD, Simon Aliwell, Commercialisation and Funding Expert
Simon Aliwell is a technology commercialisation professional supporting highly innovative organisations to ensure that emerging technologies have a better chance of successfully reaching the market. Simon has a PhD in Atmospheric Chemistry from the University of Cambridge and an MBA from London Business School.
He has led teams providing innovation management services and consultancy to industry, government, and academia, and run several technology and business networks. Simon has a background in sensors and instrumentation technology research and further experience in technology commercialisation. He has developed new sensor and instrumentation technologies and has experience in the application of sensing and instrumentation in a wide range of sectors. For the past 12 years, he has also been supporting the development of the energy harvesting technologies and applications sector in the UK. Simon has joined Lightricity to help the company grow through a better understanding of the market and funding opportunities, and by developing R&D collaborations and commercialisation partnerships.
Careers
Take a look at our current vacancies below. If nothing listed is a fit for you but you’re passionate about indoor PV, we’d love to hear from you at jobs@lightricity.co.uk. We are always on the lookout for new talents with a Master’s and/or higher university degree in Electronics, Physics, and Software Engineering.
Get in Touch
See how Lightricity can power your business. Integrate our technology into your products or use our battery-free IoT devices to reduce costs and improve operations. For enquiries about our products, sample requests or pricing, please contact us using this form.
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