HiWave Technologies in Cambridge has won the e-Legacy Environmental Design Award for its energy-efficient consumer audio amplifier integrated circuit designed and developed in Bristol.

The chip, acquired from the assets of startup Audium Semiconductor, improves amplifier efficiency in consumer audio products by up to 2000% and is so efficient that a wireless loudspeaker can run for six months on a single battery charge.

“It’s very gratifying to know that UK innovation is recognised and respected and that small British companies can win such an award in the face of competition from major international competitors.,” said HiWave’s CEO, James Lewis. “Our industry can play a major role in reducing energy consumption without compromising quality of user experience, and that’s exactly what our amplifier technology does. Equally important, it dramatically cuts the utilisation of batteries and reduces the problems of toxic waste associated with their disposal. Normal audio amplifiers use up to twenty times the number of batteries over their lifetime to deliver similar perfomance to HiWave devices.”

The e-Legacy Awards, organised by the publisher of Electronic Product Design (EPD) magazine, IML, celebrate the electronics industry’s contribution to the welfare of society. They encompass education and training, medical and security advances, energy efficiency and environmental sustainability.

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