Date: Jan 24, 2006 Source: In-Q-Tel (
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Investment by CIA Technology Venture Firm to Accelerate Product Development of Thermoelectric Technology
Nextreme Thermal Solutions, a pioneer in embedded thermoelectric components, and In-Q-Tel, a private, not-for-profit venture group funded by CIA and the U.S. Intelligence Community, today announced a new strategic investment agreement designed to advance the development of new thermal management and power generation products.
Nextreme's technology addresses the most pressing thermal management and power generation needs of the government and commercial industries. "Nextreme's innovative thermoelectric technology fits well with In-Q-Tel's mission to stimulate new technologies being developed by America¹s leading entrepreneurs," said William Johnson, a Principal at In-Q-Tel. "We invested in Nextreme because its advances in the field of thermal management promise significant impact in a wide variety of both commercial and intelligence-related markets."
"In-Q-Tel is a very important strategic partner given their history and relationship with the federal government," Nextreme CEO Jesko von Windheim said. "This agreement will help provide a new channel into the Intelligence Community and government programs at large, which could lead to new applications for Nextreme's technology."
Nextreme is a North Carolina based company formed to commercialize the thin-film thermoelectrics technology developed over the last decade. The technology, which is based on a superlattice nano-material of bismuth telluride, emerged from work with the U.S. Department of Defense. The Office of Naval Research (ONR) and the Defense Advance Research Projects Agency (DARPA) have provided funding since 1993 for development of the new materials and devices.
Nextreme's embedded thermoelectric components (eTECs) are used to cool hotspots on semiconductor and optoelectronic chips as well as precisely control the temperature of temperature-sensitive components, such as photonics and DNA chips. eTECs may also be used as power generators, converting waste heat into electricity.
About Nextreme Thermal Solutions
Nextreme Thermal Solutions manufactures advanced thermoelectric devices to address the escalating thermal management needs of the semiconductor, photonics, bio-medical and defense/aerospace industries. These high-performance solid-state devices operate as miniature heat pumps for cooling semiconductors and precision thermal management of photonics and integrated optoelectronics chips. Nextreme¹s unique thin-film superlattice technology provides an industry first -- the embedding of an active cooling device directly into an integrated circuit¹s package. Other applications include converting heat into electricity for advanced power generation applications, thermal batteries and automotive energy management. Nextreme currently has 30 employees and is located in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. For more information, please visit www.NextremeThermal.com.
