The spin-off 'energHius', the fifth business initiative of CiTIUS, officially begins its journey in the market.
Constituted as a technology-based company specializing in the design of advanced circuits for energy harvesting at a micrometric scale, the company was born from the research developed at the center and reaffirms the capabilities of CiTIUS, the USC, and Santiago de Compostela as poles of innovation in a strategic field.
The spin-off 'energHius', specialized in energy harvesting at a micrometric scale and the result of years of research work in the Artificial Vision Group of CiTIUS (GVA), formally began its commercial activity following the signing before a notary of its founding deed on March 19, 2025, officially establishing itself in an event attended by the promoting team and the rector of the University of Santiago de Compostela (USC), Antonio López.
'energHius' is a technology-based company born at the USC, by a promoting team with over 20 years of experience in custom integrated circuit design. The company aims to transfer this knowledge to society through a fabless company model (i.e., specialized in circuit design but not directly manufacturing its own chips, instead outsourcing production to specialized factories), through which it will market the energy management unit (PMU) with the lowest cold start power in the market, optimized for ultra-low-power Internet of Things (IoT) nodes.
The new company, specializing in the design of advanced circuits for energy harvesting on a micrometric scale, arises from research developed at the Singular Center for Research in Intelligent Technologies (CiTIUS), thus reaffirming the capabilities of the USC center as a pole of innovation in a strategic area in the current socio-economic context. This center is co-financed by the European Union through the Galicia Feder Program 2021-2027. The creation of energHius arises with the aim of developing and bringing to market disruptive technologies in low-power energy harvesting, seeking sustainability and energy autonomy.
Moreover, the company's launch occurs in parallel with the start-up of the USC-Televés Chair of Microelectronics, which will promote the creation of an ecosystem for talent training and technological development in this field. Additionally, it is framed in a strategic moment for the microelectronics sector in Spain, with initiatives such as the PERTE Chip, driven by the Government to strengthen the national semiconductor ecosystem. The company has the support and experience of its founding team: Paula López, Víctor Brea, Diego Cabello, Óscar Pereira, Fernando Pardo, and Daniel García Lesta, researchers at CiTIUS with extensive experience in microelectronic design of integrated circuits, with applications in diverse fields.
The initiative to create 'energHius' is a significant example of how research developed in university centers can transform into commercial applications that help solve global challenges while promoting local economy and technological development.
