Date: Jul 19, 2011 Author: Katie Fehrenbacher Source: (
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GE backs startup Nuventix, which has developed a cooling technology for LEDs and electronics. The tech can help LED-makers cool lights without using a larger fixture size.
Overheating electronics and lighting: it's the bane of laptop and light bulb users everywhere. But a better way to cool electronics and LED lighting systems is getting attention from GE and a group of VCs. On Tuesday, electronics cooling startup Nuventix announced that GE's lighting unit has entered into a licensing agreement for its LED cooling tech, and at the same time, GE and a group of VCs have invested $10 million into the company.
GE is interested in Nuventix's so-called SynJet tech, which can cool down LEDs without using a larger fixture size. The design uses a pulsating air flow system that uses less air movement than traditional cooling systems, and the company was founded out of the Georgia Institute of Technology by Ari Glezer, Sam Heffington and Raghav Mahalingam with the goal of removing more heat with less air.
There are two main problems with LEDs right now: They're too expensive, and they often don't use a standard form factor. Nuventix's cooling tech could help LED makers, like GE, produce LED lights that can be cooled more efficiently and can maintain a smaller design. That could potentially lead to a less expensive and smaller LED bulb.
Last month, Nuventix revealed that GE had chosen it as one of its smart grid challenge winners, which alongside 10 other companies had been awarded a collective $63 million. GE sells an LED bulb that can replace a 40-watt incandescent bulb, consumes 9-watts, lasts 17 years (at four hours a day), and will cost between $40 and $50 at retailers
