QD Solar is energised by $7.6m

QD Solar, a solar panel technology spinout of Toronto University, raised C$2.5m ($1.9m) in a series A round on Monday that included commercialisation firm Mars Innovation and Kaust Innovation Fund, the university venturing fund of King Abdullah University of Science.

The round was led by DSM Venturing, the corporate venturing arm of conglomerate DSM.

The news comes as QD Solar revealed it has secured more than C$10m in capital, including a C$2.5m grant provided by Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC), a cleantech-focused investment fund created by the government of Canada, in March 2016.

The Ontario Research Fund (ORF), a vehicle established by the provincial government of Ontario to support research at universities, colleges, hospitals and non-profit institutions, also supplied an undisclosed sum, topped up by a range of unnamed agencies.

QD Solar produces solar cells that capture infrared light through nano-engineered, low-cost materials. The company’s technology claims a 20% efficiency increase over other products and was developed at the Nanomaterials for Energy Laboratory in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

QD Solar was spun out by Toronto University’s tech transfer department Innovations and Partnership Office with the support of Mars Innovation.

Rafi Hofstein, president and chief executive of Mars Innovation, said: “Mars Innovation worked closely with Toronto University to found, seed-fund, and incubate QD Solar, because of the game-changing potential of the technology.

“We are thrilled to see this endorsement of the company, and the technology, from leading investors like DSM and Kaust, as well as the government of Canada, through SDTC.”