venturelab

Liquid Cooling Technology Developed at Georgia Tech Awarded U.S. Patent, Company Raising Capital to Scale

admin — Wed, 16 Apr 2025 16:25:41 +0000

Liquid Cooling Technology Developed at Georgia Tech Awarded U.S. Patent, Company Raising Capital to Scale admin Wed, 04/16/2025 - 12:25

What’s the hottest thing in electronics and high-performance computing? In a word, it’s “cool.”

To be more precise, it’s a liquid cooling system developed at Georgia Tech for electronics aimed at solving a long-standing problem: overheating.

Developed by Daniel Lorenzini, a 2019 Tech graduate who earned his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering, the cooling system uses microfluidic channels — tiny, intricate pathways for liquids — that are embedded within the chip packaging.

He worked with VentureLab, a Tech program in the Office of Commercialization, to spin his research into a startup company, EMCOOL, headquartered in Norcross.

“Our solution directly addresses the heat at the source of the silicon chip and therefore makes it faster,” Lorenzini said. “Our design has our system sitting directly on the silicon chips that generate the most heat. Using the fluids in the micro-pin fins, it carries the heat that’s produced away from the chip.”

That cooling solution is directly integrated into the electronic components, making it significantly more efficient than conventional cooling methods, because it enhances the heat dissipation process.

The result is a much lower risk of overheating and reduced power consumption, he said.

Lorenzini, who researched and refined the technology in the lab of Yogendra Joshi at the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, was awarded a patent for the technology in September 2024.

Now, EMCOOL, which has five empoloyees, is actively pursuing venture capital funding to scale its technology and address the escalating thermal management challenges posed by AI processors in modern data centers.

The system uses a cooling block with tiny, pin-like fins on one side and a special thermal interface material on the other. There's also a junction attached to the block, with ports for the fluid to flow in and out. The cooling fluid moves through the micro-pin fins and helps to carry away the heat.

Since the ports are designed to match the shape of the fins, it ensures that the fluid flows efficiently and the heat is dissipated as effectively as possible at chip-scale.

As electronic devices — from high-performance personal computers to data centers used for artificial intelligence processing — become more powerful, they generate more heat. This excess heat can damage components or cause the device to underperform.

Traditional cooling methods, which include fans or heat sinks, often struggle to keep pace with the increasing demands of the newer model electronics. Lorenzini’s microfluidic system addresses the challenge of overheating with his patented, more effective, compact, and integrated cooling solution.

With the guidance of Jonathan Goldman, director of Quadrant-i in Tech’s Office of Commercialization, Lorenzini secured grant funding through the National Science Foundation and the Georgia Research Alliance to further the research and build design prototypes.

“We immediately had the sense there was commercial potential here,” Goldman said. “Thermal management, or getting rid of heat, is a ubiquitous problem in the computer industry, so when we saw what Daniel was doing, we immediately began to engage with him to understand what the commercial potential was.”

Indeed, the initial focus for the technology was the $159 billion global electronic gaming market. Gamers need a lot of computing power, which generates a lot of heat, causing lag.

But beyond gaming systems, the company, which manufactures custom cooling blocks and kits at its Norcross facility, is eyeing more sectors, which also suffer from overheating, Goldman said.

The technology addresses similar overheating electronics challenges in high-performance computing, telecommunications, and energy systems.

“This work propels us forward in pushing the boundaries of what traditional cooling technologies can achieve because by harnessing the power of microfluidics, EMCOOL's systems offer a compact and energy-efficient way to manage heat,” Goldman said. “This has the potential to revolutionize industries reliant on high-performance computing, where heat management is a constant challenge.”

Summary sentence

EMCOOL's technology solves overheating in electronics.

Summary

With support from Georgia Tech’s Office of Commercialization, VentureLab, NSF, and GRA, EmCool now manufactures custom cooling solutions in Norcross, GA for gaming, high-performance computing, and more.

Dateline

Wed, 04/16/2025 - 12:00

peralte@gatech.edu

Contact

Péralte C. Paul
peralte@gatech.edu
404.316.1210

Associated importer

Keywords

go-researchnews

Office of Commercialization

venturelab

Jonathan Goldman

Daniel Lorenzini

EMCOOL

liquid cooling technology

News room topics

Business and Economic Development

Science and Technology

Categories

Business

Economic Development and Policy

Energy

Research

Mercury ID

681839

Source updated

Wed, 04/16/2025 - 12:24

Semiconductor Company Falcomm Raises $4M in Seed Funding to Advance Ultra-Efficient Power Amplifiers, Hires Industry Leaders

admin — Wed, 29 Nov 2023 20:02:19 +0000

Semiconductor Company Falcomm Raises $4M in Seed Funding to Advance Ultra-Efficient Power Amplifiers, Hires Industry Leaders admin Wed, 11/29/2023 - 15:02

Squadra Ventures led the round with participation from Cambium Capital, Draper Cygnus, and the Georgia Tech Foundation.

Falcomm is built on breakthroughs made over six years in the lab of founder and CEO Edgar Garay to revolutionize the power amplifier, a semiconductor found in devices from satellites to IoT to cellphones, that conditions and blasts the 1s and 0s from software through an antenna. Falcomm’s Dual-Drive PA combines ultra-efficient performance with an architecture that lends itself to production at scale.

“Power amplifiers are the workhorse of the modern electronic era, but improvement to this technology hasn’t kept pace with the rise of the innovation economy,” said Garay, who holds a doctorate in electrical engineering from Georgia Tech’s School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, where he conducted the research that led to the formation of his startup.

“Falcomm’s ultra-efficient, silicon-proven technology will bring advances in power and efficiency to the semiconductor industry that help communications manufacturers to realize massive efficiency gains, while lowering costs. With urgent challenges in the environment and supply chain, we can’t wait another 90 years for change.”

With simultaneous transmission at each terminal of a transistor, the Dual-Drive PA delivers performance that is 1.8 times more efficient at 2 times higher power, with half of the silicon area requirements of traditional power amplifiers. For manufacturers, these gains will reduce thermal management and energy costs, while easing overall system requirements.

A patented architectural design allows the product to be manufactured in high volume by semiconductor foundries in the United States. With fabless technology, the company is poised to grow a network of industry partners that catalyzes expansion in the $23 billion power amplifier market.

Born in Venezuela, Garay developed a passion for using science and engineering to solve problems while repairing machinery on a farm in his hometown. While pursuing doctoral studies at Georgia Tech, he recognized the opportunity to bring innovation to the power amplifier, which had not changed in decades despite the rapid advance of technology and its critical role in devices.

Garay’s research resulted in multiple patents, spurring him to spin out the technology and create Falcomm through assistance from Georgia Tech resources, including VentureLab and CREATE-X. Falcomm is the first company to receive investment from the Georgia Tech Foundation.

“Georgia Tech is proud to support our academic innovators to help them ensure their inventions have real-world impact,” said Raghupathy Sivakumar, Georgia Tech’s vice president of Commercialization and chief commercialization officer. “The Office of Commercialization is rapidly expanding our programs and initiatives to build out the largest and most robust entrepreneurial ecosystem at any public university. I am happy to say that Falcomm is the recipient of the first equity investment out of our new Research Impact Fund targeted specifically at spinouts based on Georgia Tech intellectual property."

The Falcomm team was recently bolstered by the addition of pioneering industry leaders who have demonstrated a track record of innovation in telecommunications, wireless, and semiconductors:

Thomas Cameron, Ph.D., chief strategy officer, is a 35-year veteran of technology research and development in the wireless industry. During a 12-year stint at Analog Devices, Cameron served as chief technology officer of the Communications Business Unit and was a leading evangelist for the adoption of 5G connectivity. He held leadership and engineering roles in the RF industry at Bell Northern Research, Nortel, Sirenza Microdevices, and WJ Communications. Cameron has seven patents in wireless technology and has authored numerous papers and technical articles.
Ned Cahoon, director of Foundry and Customer Relationships, brings more than 20 years of RF business development experience across the mobile and wireless infrastructure industries. He helped to stand up IBM’s $1 billion RF business before joining GlobalFoundries in 2016, where he served as a fellow in the office of the chief technology officer. A senior design and go-to-market leader, Cahoon brings experience building networks across foundries, academia, and technology companies.

For Falcomm, the funding follows quickly on the heels of the company’s selection to the TechCrunch Startup Battlefield 200 in 2023. The company is a graduate of the Berkeley SkyDeck Accelerator and the EvoNexus incubator.

Bringing innovation to the tiny power amplifier can have a massive impact on some of the nation’s most pressing challenges. The energy efficiency gains resulting from an increase in power output come at a time of growing urgency around climate change. The ability to manufacture domestically comes at a time when nearshoring is a priority to address cost and supply chain challenges underscored by the global semiconductor shortage and resulting CHIPS Act.

“Edgar and his team are just as inspiring as they are hard-working. They have shown that it’s possible to assemble the talent and operations to innovate on a foundational technology that hasn’t seen meaningful advances in decades anywhere in the country,” said Guy Filippelli, Squadra Ventures’ managing partner. “By boosting efficiency and manufacturing domestically in the critical semiconductor industry, Falcomm’s innovations will bolster American competitiveness.”

The funding will be used to accelerate go-to-market activities with satellite companies and wireless infrastructure manufacturers, advance the company’s patented technology, and expand the team. Falcomm is actively hiring for roles in operations, engineering, and design. View job openings.

Subtitle

Summary sentence

Seed round includes four investor partners

Summary

ATLANTA and BALTIMORE — Falcomm, the semiconductor company providing ultra-efficient power amplifiers to the wireless communications market, announced that it has raised $4 million in seed funding and hired two industry leaders to accelerate the development of its next-generation Dual-Drive PA and expand its network of hardware manufacturers.

Dateline

Wed, 11/29/2023 - 12:00

peralte@gatech.edu

Contact

For Falcomm:

Stephen Babcock, stephen@squadra.vc

For Georgia Tech:

Péralte C. Paul

peralte@gatech.edu

404.316.1210

Sidebar

About Falcomm
Falcomm is a fabless semiconductor company on a mission to provide the most energy efficient power amplifier products and front-end modules for the wireless communication market. The company’s research-backed, patented Dual- Drive™ power amplifier is an ultra-efficient, silicon-based power amplifier for wireless communication applications. Learn more at myfalcomm.com.

About Squadra Ventures
Squadra Ventures is a venture capital firm led by founder-operators that invests in early stage cyber and national security companies. Grounded in the belief that success is a combination of people, product, and planning, the Squadra team provides transformational support to startup leaders in the complex dual-use technology ecosystem. By applying a growth-stage mindset at the seed stage and a commitment to building alongside entrepreneurs, Squadra empowers extraordinary teams to win and leave a lasting positive impact on the world. Learn more at squadra.vc.

Associated importer

Keywords

Falcomm

venturelab

CREATE-X

News room topics

Business and Economic Development

Categories

Business

Engineering

Student Research

Mercury ID

671302

Source updated

Wed, 11/29/2023 - 15:02

Researchers Receive ARPA-E Funding to Develop Eco-Friendly High-Voltage Circuit Breaker

admin — Tue, 07 Feb 2023 16:52:11 +0000

Researchers Receive ARPA-E Funding to Develop Eco-Friendly High-Voltage Circuit Breaker admin Tue, 02/07/2023 - 11:52

Replacing the potent greenhouse gas SF₆in high-voltage circuit breakers with a clean alternative is critical as the U.S. looks to upgrade its aging electrical infrastructure.

Although well-known greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide (CO₂) and methane contribute the most emissions, it is a lesser-known greenhouse gas, sulfur hexafluoride (SF₆), that owns the title as the “most potent.” The man-made gas has a global warming potential 23,900 times than that of CO₂ and an atmospheric lifetime persistence of up to 3,200 years.

Like other greenhouse gases, SF₆, plays a significant, albeit indirect, role in everyday life, as it is a key component in high-voltage circuit breakers and switchgear for electric power systems. For the U.S. to effectively decrease carbon emissions to goals set at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), the country’s electrical power grid will need substantial updating, which includes finding an alternative to SF₆ electrical equipment

“High-voltage alternating current (AC) SF₆-insulated circuit breakers can be found in most electrical substations in the U.S. and around the world. They are vital mechanisms for a reliable and resilient power grid,” said Lukas Graber, associate professor in the Georgia Tech School for Electrical and Computer Engineering. “But any leaks of SF₆ are extremely bad for the environment due to its greenhouse gas effect.”

A team of researchers from Georgia Tech, led by Graber and in collaboration with Mississippi State University, has recently been awarded nearly $4 million from the Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) to develop a three-phase SF₆-free AC high-voltage circuit breaker. Fittingly, the proposed design is called TESLA (Tough and Ecological Supercritical Line Breaker for AC), acknowledging AC electricity pioneer Nikola Tesla.

The Impact of SF₆

From 2008 to 2018, the annual emissions rate of SF₆ rose from about 7,300 tons to approximately 9,040 tons, an increase of 24%, according to a 2020 study published by the European Geosciences Union. That amount of SF₆ equates to greenhouse gas emissions of approximately 44 million passenger vehicles driven for one year, or 226 billion pounds of coal being burned.

According to ARPA-E, equipment leaks are a major source of SF₆ emissions from the electrical transport and distribution sector. This is particularly true for aging equipment which, due to natural deterioration, is more prone to gas leaks. Ironically, as the U.S. strives to supplant fossil fuel-derived electricity generation with cleaner wind and solar power, the power grid will become increasingly decentralized, which will require more SF₆ gas-insulated equipment.

“The electrical infrastructure in the US is in desperate need of upgrades to accommodate an increasing share of renewable energy, the electrification of the transportation sector, and improved resiliency against cyberattacks,” said Graber. “Existing electrical substations will require new equipment, and as part of these upgrades, a new eco-friendly generation of circuit breakers should be implemented.”

Looking to Supercritical Fluids

Replacing SF₆ is no easy task. While SF₆has exceedingly high global warming potential, the synthetic gas is an excellent electrical insulator — a material in which electric current does not flow freely. The gas is known for its effectiveness, stability, and intrinsic non-toxic, non-corrosive, and non-flammable nature, and while non-SF₆ equipment has long been available for low to medium-voltage applications, there are no alternatives for high-voltage equipment ready for market.

The team’s research has shown that the key to success may be utilizing recent breakthroughs in the dielectric (or electrical insulating) properties of supercritical fluid. A supercritical fluid is a highly compressed fluid that combines the properties of gases and liquids, and is most frequently used for power generation. The team is currently experimenting with supercritical CO₂, which has ecologically friendly attributes that could be utilized in high-voltage equipment.

“Our preliminary results show that the supercritical fluid is a better dielectric than SF₆,” said Zhiyang Jin, research engineer in Graber’s Plasma and Dielectrics Lab at Georgia Tech. “The breakdown voltage of supercritical CO₂ is at least three times that of SF₆, and since CO₂ is everywhere, so a man-made gas will no longer be needed.”

Unlike SF₆ circuit breakers, the design pressure needed for supercritical fluid in TESLA is significant — about ten times higher than SF₆ counterparts. Achieving this design means developing a different circuit breaker chamber to maintain structural integrity during and after the fault current interrupting event. Computational fluid dynamics models have already been developed to study the pressure and temperature changes, and the velocity distribution of supercritical fluids for designs of the chamber, nozzle, and contact system.

In addition to the engineering challenge of connection compatibility with existing high-voltage electrical equipment/infrastructure, and the subsequent workforce training that will entail, market adoption is critical hurdle to clear.

“To replace existing circuit breakers, we cannot just show that TESLA passed all required tests,” said Jonathan Goldman, principal at Georgia Tech’s Venturelab. “Gaining trust from large utility companies is also one of our crucial tasks. We will seek opinions from experts from various backgrounds.”

Goldman and electrical engineering professor Santiago Grijalva will work with several industry partners to guide the design process, explore additional application segments, and advise on the commercialization of TESLA.

Getting to Work

The interdisciplinary team will design and build the proposed circuit breaker at a high voltage rating (245 kV, 4 kA) and validate the design and functionality using a synthetic test circuit. The testbed will be modular in design and enable both high-current and high-voltage testing without needing access to a high-power source or generator. According to Graber, the development of such experimental capability is not only important for the TESLA project, but also for the power and energy industry of the U.S.

The three-year ARPA-E-funded project will culminate in the development of a TESLA prototype tested at the Paul B. Jacob High Voltage Laboratory at Mississippi State University — the largest university-operated high voltage facility in North America. The lab is directed by Chanyeop Park, who received his Ph.D. at Georgia Tech.

The team also includes Juergen Rauleder, assistant professor in the Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering, and Lauren Garten, assistant professor in the School of Materials Science and Engineering.

Raulder will investigate the fluid dynamics inside the circuit breaker and provide guidance for mechanical designs of a high-pressure tank, contact system, and arc quenching mechanism, while Garten will research metal oxide varistor characteristics for direct current circuit breaker applications. Garten’s research would have an impact on another ARPA-E-funded project at Georgia Tech called EDISON led by Graber.

“Edison and Tesla as people never got along with each other, but through advancements in high-voltage circuit breakers, we’re trying to make them good friends,” said Graber. “There is no win or lose for choosing AC or DC nowadays, together they can both make our world a better place to live.”

Summary sentence

Replacing the potent greenhouse gas SF6 in high-voltage circuit breakers with a clean alternative is critical as the U.S. looks to upgrade its aging electrical infrastructure.

Dateline

Tue, 06/14/2022 - 12:00

Contact

Dan Watson
dwatson@ece.gatech.edu

Location

Atlanta, GA

Associated importer

Keywords

Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy

ARPA-E

High-Voltage Circuit Breaker

Lukas Graber

Supercritical Fluids

Department of Energy

Juergen Rauleder

Lauren Garten

Santiago Grijalva

Jonathan Goldman

venturelab

Zhiyang Jin

Chanyeop Park

go-researchnews

Categories

Institute and Campus

Research

Energy

Engineering

Environment

Core research areas

Energy and Sustainable Infrastructure

Mercury ID

658887

Source updated

Mon, 06/27/2022 - 10:08

Environmental Health Engineering Graduate Student Wins CRIDC Innovation Competition

bwaye3 — Wed, 16 Feb 2022 20:40:44 +0000

Environmental Health Engineering Graduate Student Wins CRIDC Innovation Competition bwaye3 Wed, 02/16/2022 - 15:40

Mo Jarin, a doctoral student in Georgia Tech’s School of Civil and Environmental Engineering has won the Career, Research, and Innovation Development Conference’s Innovation Competition for her VoltaPure water disinfection technology.

Jarin, who is pursuing her degree in environmental health engineering, earned a $1,000 cash prize for her efforts.

The annual event is sponsored by VentureLab, which helps Georgia Tech researchers explore market opportunities and create startups based on their work.

In her three-minute pitch, Jarin explained more than 800 million people worldwide lack consistent access to clean drinking water due to the high cost of treatment plants, difficulties in transporting chemicals, and the aftermath of carcinogenic disinfection byproducts.

“With the current trend in water disinfection centered on alternative solutions to standard chemicals like chlorine, we are excited to continue exploring the market opportunities for VoltaPure,” Jarin said. “I am honored and extremely grateful to have had the opportunity to present to a panel of experienced judges — and especially female entrepreneurs — on our current progress with the commercialization efforts for VoltaPure.

VoltaPure’s novel co-axial electrode copper ionization cell enables superior water disinfection, while producing a low-level, safe effluent copper concentration.

“Mo made a compelling case for the commercial potential of her VoltaPure water disinfection technology,” said VentureLab Director Keith McGreggor. “Her idea illustrates why the Innovation Competition is a great opportunity for Georgia Tech student researchers to think about what it might take to start a business based on their work.”

To better understand her technology’s potential, Jarin has already participated in Georgia Tech’s inaugural Female Founders program and audited the CREATE-X Startup Launch program. She was also awarded a $50,000 grant through the National Science Foundation’s Innovation-Corps program to participate in a seven-week bootcamp focused on experiential education to gain insight into her startup’s industry. She is advised by Xing Xie, the Carlton S. Wilder Assistant Professor in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Strong Contenders

Two other student presenters were selected as runners-up and will each receive $500. Nathan Zavanelli, pursuing a doctoral degree in mechanical engineering/bioengineering, and advised by Woon-Hong Yeo in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, explained the benefits of his “smart patch” for sleep apnea assessments. The disorder affects more than 900 million adults worldwide, but most often goes undiagnosed.

Amirtha Varshini Anbuchezhiyan Sindhanai, a computer science master’s student in Tech’s College of Computing, and advised by James Rehg, described how her technology uses machine learning and machine vision to help job applicants review and enhance their nonverbal communications skills.

LaVonda Brown, a Georgia Tech alumna and founder of startup EyeGage, served as a judge alongside Nammy Vedire, director of platform and operations of Engage, the Georgia Tech-affiliated incubator for enterprise-focused startups.

VentureLab will provide ongoing support, reaching out to all the competitors to offer guidance and help them pursue programs and grants that support the transition from success in the lab to success in the market.

Georgia Tech students, faculty, and staff interested in these opportunities to further the commercialization of their own research may contact VentureLab through its website, venturelab.gatech.edu, or by e-mailing info@venturelab.gatech.edu.

Summary sentence

Winning technology is disinfection system that addresses access challenges to clean drinking water

Dateline

Wed, 02/16/2022 - 12:00

peralte.paul@comm.gatech.edu

Contact

Péralte C. Paul
404.316.1210
peralte.paul@comm.gatech.edu

Location

Atlanta, GA

Associated importer

Keywords

Water

clean water

venturelab

go-researchnews

Mo Jarin

News room topics

Health and Medicine

Science and Technology

Categories

Institute and Campus

Student and Faculty

Student Research

Research

Biotechnology, Health, Bioengineering, Genetics

Engineering

Core research areas

Energy and Sustainable Infrastructure

Mercury ID

655531

Source updated

Wed, 02/16/2022 - 15:40