8 December 2014

EpiGaN wins Global Cleantech Cluster Association's Later Stage Award

At the 5th annual CleanTech Investing Seminar in Lausanne, Switzerland on 3 December, III-nitride epitaxial material supplier EpiGaN nv of Hasselt, near Antwerp, Belgium was announced as winner of the 2014 Global Cleantech Cluster Association (GCCA) Later Stage Award in the category ‘Energy efficiency’.

Incorporated in 2010, EpiGaN was founded by chief executive officer Dr Marianne Germain, chief technology officer Dr Joff Derluyn and chief operating officer Dr Stefan Degroote as a spin-off of nanoelectronics research center Imec of Leuven, Belgium. The founders jointly developed gallium nitride-on-silicon (GaN-on-Si) technology on 4” and 6” wafers at Imec, part of which has been licensed to EpiGaN. In mid-2012, EpiGaN closed its first capital round of €4m, to allow it to start volume production of GaN-on-Si epitaxial material. Investors include Capricorn Cleantech Fund, Robert Bosch Venture Capital, and LRM.

GaN-on-Si is seen as a promising emerging technology and enabler for clean energy generation and efficient power conversion. EpiGaN’s GaN-on-Si wafer development and production facility at the Hasselt Campus targets global device makers for power supplies, consumer electronic goods, hybrid electric vehicles, smart grid systems, solar inverters and AC drives or RF base stations.

EpiGaN is a member company of the Flanders Cleantech Associaton (FCA) based in Antwerp, which provides the Flemish cleantech industry with a platform to gain exposure to worldwide business partners, networks and investor communities. FCA nominated EpiGaN to the list of contenders for the 2014 GCCCA award.
The Global Cleantech (GCCA) Later Stage Award vets the most promising later-stage high-tech companies across the globe and provides the best of them with the public exposure to succeed and grow further. Contenders for the award compete in ten categories, including solar, wind, water, and energy efficiency.

“Cleantech is thriving throughout the world as a major driver of economic growth,” said Christian Haeuselmann, co-founder & chairman of the GCCA, and cluster manager for swisscleantech, which hosted this year's awards. “The 2014 winners are proving that companies innovating in the new green economy are both investable and thriving.”

The global top 10 contenders were selected from the 10,000 companies represented by the GCCA’s nearly 52 member clusters. Over 100 companies were nominated in their regions, narrowed to the top-30 semi-finalists using the Keystone Method, a business and venture development tool developed by GCCA head judge Dr Peter Adriaens, CEO of the Keystone Compact Group

EpiGaN was selected by the GCCA from 10 finalists for the award. “It is highly satisfying and motivating to be recognized for the hard work that our very committed research and manufacturing team has put in since the founding of the company in 2010,” commented Germain. “Right now, we are expanding our production capacity for the volume manufacture of large-diameter wafers that support high-power and high-breakdown voltages,” she added. “EpiGaN's continuous growth trajectory is propelled by the rising demand from our worldwide industrial customers.”

Tags: EpiGaN GaN-on-Si

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