Texas firm says value-replacing chip can drastically cut energy use

SAN DIEGO — A semiconductor start-up company from Austin, Texas on Tuesday unveiled a microchip it says can save billions of barrels of oil and dramatically reduce energy costs for air conditioners and other devices.

Microstaq Inc.'s silicon chips are designed to replace the complex metal solenoids and valves that control the flow of refrigerants in air conditioning units.

Since they don't have moving parts that use energy and give off heat during operation, the chips can operate 25 to 30 percent more efficiently than traditional valves, according to company officials.

"This is the essence of a truly disruptive technology," said Mark Luckevich, the company's vice president of engineering.

Microstaq unveiled its new Ventilum chip at a technology conference for entrepreneurs and investors here.

During the company's six-minute pitch to investors, air conditioners worldwide consumed electricity that required 52,000 barrels of oil, said ScottWattenberg, the company's chief operating officer.

With Microstaq's chip, those air conditioners would have been able to operate with about 13,000 fewer barrels of oil, he said.

Already, three of the top five U.S. air conditioning manufacturers have tested the company's product, and at least one plans to start selling units based on it beginning next year,Wattenberg said.

He declined to name the companies, but said Microstaq plans to begin production in December through a third-party foundry company.

The company also is working closely with Austin-based Freescale Semiconductor and other companies with plans to expand beyond the air conditioning market.

"When you think about it, valves are used everywhere," said Luckevich. "We're just scratching the surface."

Microstaq isn't the first company to try to tap into the fast-growing business of so-called micro-electrical mechanical systems, or MEMS. Other big fluid control system companies, such as Parker Hannifin Corp. and Emerson Electric, are working on similar technologies.

But Microstaq's chips, which are protected by 26 patents, can control fluids more precisely and accurately than anything else on the market today, the company claims. They also can be easily designed into new air conditioning systems or retrofitted for use in existing systems.

Microstaq was founded in 2000 by automotive and aerospace industry veterans who were looking for ways to replace valves used in cars and airplanes with lighter, more efficient microchips.

Since then the company has raised about $22.5 million in venture capital funding from several VC firms.

After working out of offices in the Detroit and Seattle areas, the company moved to Austin about a year ago to tap into the deep talent pool and other resources of the region's semiconductor industry base. It currently employs about 40 people.

Bob Keefe is a west coast correspondent for Cox Newspapers.