ALCAN Systems

ALCAN Systems is a German-based smart antenna technology company which has developed a revolutionary new liquid crystal (LC) based phased array antenna technology. ALCAN's liquid crystal based platform technology provides the lowest cost and lowest power consuming high-performance phased array technology in the world. This has disruptive implications for the satellite and 5G markets. For the satellite market, ALCAN is targeting high-performing enterprise antennas that can achieve throughputs of more than 1Gbps for under EUR 10,000 and consumer & IOT broad-band antennas that can achieve throughputs in excess of 100 Mbps for under EUR 1,000. For the 5G market, ALCAN is targeting 2D beam-steering antennas that can meet the performance requirements of the mmWave frequencies at price points that are 3-5x lower than comparable products. Furthermore, ALCAN is also working to develop transparent UE antennas that can be integrated into the windows of buildings or sun-roof of cars. The technology is based on the work of ALCAN co-Founder and CEO Dr. Onur Karabey who proved the viability of LC based phased array antennas in 2011. The company initially received seed funding of EUR 850,000 from the EXIST Transfer of Research Program of German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) in 2014 to commercialise the research and accelerate the development of a working prototype. ALCAN raised a further EUR 10.5 million Series A investment in 2017 from a consortium of leading global companies and is now focused on bringing its first product to market in 2022.