€15m for the next generation of RIS reconfigurable intelligent surfaces
Greenerwave in France has launched the second generation of its reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS) and raised €15m for the commercialisation.
The RIS shown at Mobile World Congress (MWC) this week uses passive and dynamic metasurfaces that can redirect millimetric waves to a specific device while adjusting their position in real time. The new generation is based on a cheaper and far more energy-efficient new component, this version enables a ten-fold reduction in energy consumption and drastically lower costs over the original design
It has also finalized the €15m fundraising this month from the BPI Defense Innovation Fund, Safran Corporate Ventures, Intelsat, BNP and Plastic Omnium.
- First ETSI report on Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces
- Partnership to verify RIS modules and drive 5G/6G
- European standards group for 6G metamaterial antenna
While 5G mainly functions today in the 3.5GHz band, it is starting to rely on millimetre wave links at 28GHz. As the frequency rises, however, range decreases and waves are less capable of crossing obstacles. This creates real connection problems for users located in internal and urban environments with limited coverage.
The metasurfaces consist of a group of elements of centimetric size called pixels that act as micromirrors. Each pixel can modify the sign of the reflected wave. The interactions between pixels and microwaves are managed by algorithms that direct waves after their reflection on the surface. These are are compatible with all 5G/5G+ networks and reduces the need for more transmitting antennas and amplifiers which is costly and energy-intensive.
Greenerwave was founded in 2016 by researchers Geoffroy Lerosey and Mathias Fink as a spin-off from the Langevin Institute, CNRS and ESPCI-PSL (École supérieure de physique et de chimie industrielles de Paris).
“RIS technology is generating spectacular interest within the telecommunications scientific community, and an increasing number of operators and vendors are starting to take a close look at it, especially in Asia. What is still lacking is standardization of the technology by international bodies. Once this is done, Greenerwave will be ready with the most cost effective and sustainable products on the market,” said Lerosey, CEO.
The RIS metasurfaces are passive, low-cost and easy to manufacture, this technology aims to optimize the use of electromagnetic waves while drastically reducing the antenna energy consumption and production costs. The Greenerwave technology was validated by the first 5G demonstration of RIS by NTT and AGC in Japan last year
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