Syenta receives $3.7 million in seed funding for new AM tech
January 11, 2023
As reported in StartupDaily, Australian-based manufacturing startup Syenta has raised AUS $3.7 million in seed funding. The funds are expected to accelerate the development and delivery of its Additive Manufacturing machines to early customers, as well as taking on product managers and software engineers.
Syenta was founded two years ago by Jekaterina Viktorova and Professor Luke Connal as a spin out of Australian National University (ANU). The pair worked quietly over the intervening years to develop a small-scale, multi-material Additive Manufacturing machine which utilises electrochemistry to manufacture small electronics such as sensors, batteries, PCBs, antennae and photovoltaics. The machine is suitable for use with copper, nickel, silver, gold, molybdenum oxide, zinc telluride, epoxy and conductive polymers such as PEDOT, polyaniline, and polypyrrole.
“Having experienced the limitations of state-of-the-art printed electronics methods firsthand, I’m excited to be working on a method that allows for true multi-material printing that involves fewer steps and less waste,” stated Viktorova. “Our Additive Manufacturing method is a key enabler of innovation in the electronics sector.”
Professor Connal added, “We were trying to solve some fundamental problems to enable printing of metals and plastics at the same time. The day after the first email, we had a proof-of concept that we were onto something. From very early on we were convinced that this was potentially the basis of an impactful company.”
GreatCell Energy’s Paul Moonie, an early customer, stated, “Syenta helped us pave a path to leap hurdles to deliver on high quality, best performing and low-cost, large-scale Australian made Perovskite solar cells. We’re excited of our future formal collaboration projects using their products and technical know-how to place us ahead of the field in Perovskite technology and product development.”
Connal concluded, “This is a brand-new way to manufacture. It means we can build electronics faster, cheaper and with less energy. These portable factories can be on our customers’ benchtop, removing the reliance of electronic supply chains.”
A short demonstration of Syenta’s Additive Manufacturing process is available to watch here.
