Champaign, Ill.-based SmartSpark Energy Systems, a power electronics company, has secured Series A financing from Battery Ventures. SmartSpark is based on patented technologies licensed from the University of Illinois, a noted center of expertise for power electronics. Battery Ventures partner Jason Matlof joins the company's board of directors in conjunction with the funding.
SmartSpark will use this early financing to develop its SolarBridge product line, which seeks to increase the adoption of solar power by lowering the cost and increasing the reliability of one of the most critical components of a solar power system – the inverter.
‘The long-term growth prospects for the solar market are clear, but it's also clear that we need to see the cost and complexity of overall systems come down if they are to be widely adopted,’ says Matlof. ‘This is an exciting investment because we believe SmartSpark has the potential to change the economics of solar with technology to reduce the cost and increase the reliability and output of solar installations.’
