We’ve all been there – we are in a pinch, needing to make a phone call only to find our cell phone battery is too low for its use. You plug it in and… you wait. Charging takes time. If you are in a rush, this wait can seem like an eternity.
But new technology developed by Professor Yan-Fei Liu’s research lab at Queen’s University provides a timely solution. Dr. Liu, a professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Chair of Graduate Studies, has launched DigiQ Power, an early-stage startup company focused on power adapters that increase the efficiency of USB C chargers for cell phones, tablets, and notebook computers, meaning they charge these devices faster than anything currently available in the market. A significant feature is that the same charger can be used to charge a range of devices such as cell phones and notebook computers. The chargers are smaller in size than current products on the market and can even be used for faster charging of other electronics such as drones, e-bikes, and e-scooters.
While Dr. Liu’s technology is new to the market, it started in a Queen’s research lab several years ago.
“Dr. Liu is a prolific inventor,” says Ramzi Asfour, former Assistant Director with the Technology Transfer Unit of Queen’s Partnerships and Innovation and current Associate Director (Administration) of Ingenuity Labs Research Institute. “He had a lot of invention disclosures on power circuits, but he was focused on small form factor power supplies for consumer devices and for data centres.”
With consumer devices in mind, Dr. Liu approached PARTEQ Innovations, now part of Queen’s Partnerships and Innovation (QPI), about how to set up a company following Queen’s commercialization pathways.
In his lab, Dr. Liu has advanced power electronics technology through a number of practical innovations in driver technologies and converter topologies as well as novel control methods including digital control.
In fact, Queen’s has filed patent applications for 31 of Dr. Liu’s inventions over the last 20 years, resulting in 95 patent applications filed in Canada, the U.S., and China, and over 20 US patents issued, with help from QPI’s Stephen Scribner, Director, Intellectual Property and patent agent, who has worked with Dr. Liu for all of those years. And the innovation continues, with several more patent applications currently being prepared.
Photo credit: Dr. Yan-Fei Liu.
Because of his significant and novel work in the power electronics research field, Dr. Liu was inducted into the Canadian Academy of Engineering (CAE) in 2018. CAE is an independent, self-governing, and non-profit organization comprised of many of Canada’s most accomplished engineers to provide advice in matters of engineering concern.
“The first patent directly related to DigiQ was issued in 2018,” says Dr. Liu. That patent was Ripple Cancellation Converter with High Power Factor. The research that led to this patented invention was funded by NSERC’s Discovery Grant program and its Idea to Innovation (I2I) program, and was the start of DigiQ’s journey from invention disclosure to patents to commercialization and company formation.
“One of the reasons that I decided to create my own company to commercialize these patents is that we found it was very difficult to license the patents to a third company at a reasonable price,” says Dr. Liu. “A second reason that I decided to create DigiQ was that I knew I would get full support from [then] PARTEQ, such as patent portfolio management, business development help, etc.”
The third reason, Dr. Liu mentions, is the most important reason: “We have developed a technology that can meet the need of the new trend of environmentally friendly power adapters for cell phones, and notebook computers. The cell phone industry is working towards reducing its environmental footprint by re-using the power adapter for phones made by different manufacturers and for different generations of phones.”
Essentially, Dr. Liu’s technology will provide a smaller and more efficient power adapter that can charge a variety of devices such as cell phones, tablets, and laptop computers. There is a lot of interest in having a single charger for a variety of devices and it’s starting to gain traction in the market.
In August 2022, DigiQ’s first customer, Baseus, an electronics company known for its chargers, power banks, and audio equipment, announced the release of two products that incorporated DigiQ’s intelligent features and fully digital control technology.
DigiQ has secured exclusive licenses for over 15 US patents and additional international patents from PARTEQ and Queen’s, and, with support from QPI, has developed strategic partnerships with several stakeholders in the local ecosystem.
In the summer of 2021, Dr. Liu applied to and was awarded funding from QPI’s Technology Development Pilot (TDP) program. Enabled by the Vice-Principal, Research (VPR), and administered by QPI, the goal of the Program is to advance the technology readiness level of selected inventions with commercial potential to position them for other funding opportunities and make them attractive to potential licensees or investors. Dr. Liu and his team were awarded $20,000 to advance the development of his invention relating to a “Pulse Width Modulation Voltage Output Sensing” technology.
“The strength of Dr. Liu’s patent portfolio combined with the development of his technology thus far, early signals of interest from the market, and co-investment from DigiQ led us to recommend Dr. Liu’s project proposal for TDP funding” says Janice Mady, Director of QPI’s Research and Innovation Partnerships team. “The investment is helping to further the development of a technology that is ready to not just enter the market but potentially change the current market.”
The QPI team also continues to provide go-to-market support to Dr. Liu and DigiQ. Shoma Sinha, Partnerships Development Officer with focus on digital technologies (among other areas of focus), works closely with Dr. Liu to continue to support the company’s growth strategy including managing licenses with Queen’s, participating in relevant pitches and opportunities to showcase the company and build its brand, as well as continuously connecting with and leveraging other resources in the innovation ecosystem in Kingston and eastern Ontario throughout the various stages of company growth.
“Dr. Liu and his team not only have exceptional expertise and a technology portfolio that is poised to create impact across a variety of high potential market applications, but they also have the passion, commitment and customer/partner focus that has and is enabling them to make great strides very quickly since the company incorporated. This is truly an exciting time for DigiQ,” says Dr. Sinha.