RadianX says its perovskite solar material harvests indoor light at twice the rate of existing solar panels, a performance it hopes will keep small electronics running without battery swaps. The startup raised $5 million in seed funding to support a commercial-volume production line.
The round was led by SOSV and Twynam, with participation from One Small Planet, Sachsen Ventures, Avila VC, California Innovation Fund, quantumEDGE, Riceberg Ventures and Alumni Ventures. Pacific Union Technology Precision Manufacturing is also providing $4 million in non-dilutive investment to build a dedicated line for RadianX.
The company is targeting what it calls “edge energy”: power packages for devices such as e-readers and Internet of Things sensors, as well as wearables and robots constrained by battery life. Solar-powered calculators have existed for decades, but traditional panels have not met the demands of many modern electronics, RadianX co-founder and CEO Vivian Qu told TechCrunch. “It’s power density,” she said, describing why perovskites have drawn interest.
RadianX says its 1.2-meter-by-0.6-meter panel reaches 22.33% light-harvesting efficiency, which the company described as a record. The material performs as well as existing panels outdoors and twice as well indoors, according to the startup. Its panels can be as thin as 0.7 millimeters and cut to fit different devices.
Perovskites remain more expensive than conventional silicon panels and are less durable, although the technology has improved in recent years. RadianX says it has met a key industry durability standard and argues indoor use exposes its panels to less wear. The startup is also developing power electronics designed for perovskites, rather than relying on systems tuned for silicon. It plans to sell integrated power packages to device makers, not standalone panels, Qu said.
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