Dracula Technologies raises €2.2 million to pre-industrialize its LAYER® technology
The industrialists MGI Digital Technology and ISRA Cards are investing financially and tangibly in the start-up in order to accompany it in the pre-industrialization phase of its LAYER® technology designed to supply energy to connected objects using organic photovoltaic technology. This financing will be supplemented by WiSEED fund raising with a target of 600 k€ of which 300 k€ have already been secured
Valence, 18th May 2020
Dracula Technologies, a Deeptech start-up that has developed and produced LAYER®, an organic photovoltaic technology produced by digital printing and designed to power connected objects with low consumption, is currently receiving backing from two key industry players for its development, MGI Digital Technology, and ISRA Cards.
A fund-raising campaign to prepare for industrialisation and to intensify the international development of its LAYER® technology, the benchmark energy harvesting solution for supplying power to connected objects.
This fundraising will enable Dracula Technologies to acquire a pre-production line, to recruit new staff, and to step up the commercial development of LAYER®, both in France and abroad. LAYER® is a revolutionary technology capable of generating energy locally and sustainably, a genuine alternative to batteries and their constraints.
The start-up has already completed two Proof of Concept (PoC) projects with French manufacturers, including a collaboration with Orange Labs that focuses on the autonomous use of a communicating sensor in the context of development around the connected home.
Dracula Technologies also markets demonstration kits that allow teams to prototype the first autonomous devices in an approach prior to the implementation of PoC.
« We are very pleased to have MGI Digital Technology and ISRA Cards on our side. Both of them will provide us with expertise in the industrialization of digital technologies as well as market opportunities. »
MGI Digital Technology
MGI Digital Technology, a world leader in the field of digital finishing, has chosen to provide support and investment through the supply of Alphajet industrial equipment. “LAYER® technology is a solution for the future. We have identified numerous potential synergies, particularly with our subsidiary CERADROP, the French leader in printed electronics. Our investment and our expertise in industrial Digital printing solutions will enable Dracula Technologies to further advance the pre-industrialization and industrialization phases of LAYER®” adds Edmond Abergel, CEO of MGI Digital Technology.
ISRA Cards
ISRA Cards, a designer and manufacturer of customized cards and commercial media incorporating electronics, has also provided its support in the form of an industrial and financial partnership. “ISRA comes from the printed communication sector and has, for more than 40 years, pursued its growth through industrial and technological advances. The know-how we have acquired in terms of printing techniques and electronic integration enables us to participate in highly innovative projects such as LAYER®, which is totally in line with our strategy of innovation and diversification“. Concludes Jean-Pierre Chauvin, Managing Director of ISRA Cards.
WiSEED
To further supplement this fundraising campaign, Dracula Technologies has chosen to launch a fundraising campaign via the WiSEED platform. The first objective of 300,000 euros has already been reached and the campaign will run until June 14th to raise 600,000 euros.
A solution to the challenges facing the sector
Billions of IoTs will be installed in the coming years and almost half of them will be installed inside buildings. Today, the use of batteries is a real burden on this development. Players must strive to reduce the frequency and distance of data emissions, otherwise, maintenance operations will multiply.
So why not capture the energy available on the spot? This is where energy harvesting comes in: capturing the energy of the elements around us: light, temperature variations, and movements to convert them into electrical energy.
Dracula Technologies relies on ambient light and more precisely on organic photovoltaics and its LAYER® technology to power these connected objects.
Several years of R&D and 5 patents
Over the last ten years, so-called organic solar cells have emerged as promising technologies thanks to their characteristics: lightness, flexibility, design opportunities, and low environmental impact. In addition, its good performance in low-light conditions makes OPV (Organic PhotoVoltaic) technology a pioneering solution for powering IoTs indoors.
The technology, which has required more than seven years of R&D, is protected by five patents filed between 2014 and 2019. At the same time, the 15-strong team has nearly 60 scientific publications to its credit.
With such funding and partnerships, the start-up will have the means to ensure that its LAYER® technology will become the benchmark energy harvesting solution for supplying power to connected objects.
About Dracula Technologies
Founded in 2011, the start-up which specializes in the design and printing of OPV modules employs 15 people. Its LAYER® technology is based on the printing of five layers, each of which has physical properties that allow energy to be generated from ambient light. Together, the five printed layers form an organic photovoltaic (OPV) module.
Dracula Technologies formulates its inks from conductive materials that do not use rare earth or lead.
The characteristics of LAYER® technology
- – Energy from ambient light: thanks to the use of specific materials, LAYER® generates energy from ambient light, whether natural or artificial;
- – Customisable: inkjet printing allows specific shapes and designs to be created. It also offers the possibility of printing on flexible substrates that can adjust to curves.
- – Environmentally friendly: LAYER® does not require rare earth, unlike many energy supply solutions. Moreover, only organic materials are used to formulate the photoactive inks.
About MGI Digital Impression – http://www.mgi-fr.com and http://www.mgi-usa.com
MGI Digital Technology is the world leader in digital finishing through several thousand industrial printing customers. MGI Digital Technology is a French company founded in 1982 which designs, manufactures, and markets a comprehensive and innovative range of digital presses in France and abroad. Since 2013, the Group has also gained a foothold in the promising Printed Electronics and Intelligent 3D printing market with the acquisition of CERADROP.
MGI Digital Technology generates more than 95% of its turnover internationally and has recorded double-digit annual growth for more than 14 years. MGI Digital Technology has been listed on Euronext Growth since 2006.
About ISRA Cards – www.isra.fr
ISRA is an independent French company specializing in the design and manufacture of cards and customized media, mainly dedicated to trading, access control, identification, and transport.
As well as its products, ISRA offers a wide range of services such as printing, customization, contact or contactless chip integration, card programming, and routing operations (enveloping, shipping).
