Two Professors from the University of Zaragoza established ADD Semiconductor (Advanced Digital Design S.A.) in 2001 to develop Power Line Communication (PLC) ICs for smart metering and home/building automation applications. The company’s mission is “to turn the existing low voltage electric grid into a reliable and easy to use transmission medium.”

ADD Semi started operations in 2007 and has received funding from ADARA Venture Partners. The company has roughly 43 employees with 30 dedicated to R&D activities. ADD is headquartered in Spain with offices in Beijing, Shenzhen, Pune (India), and Orlando, Florida.

Regulatory, competence, social, and technology factors are converging to drive a new business opportunity for chips for Power Line Communication (PLC) in Smart Metering AMM/AMI, Lighting, Home & Industrial Automation, Electric Cars, and more. Compared to BPL, Zigbee, RF ISM and GSM/GPRS, ADD Semi believes narrow band PLC is the best technology to communicate on the Smart Grid, based on price, baud rate, distance, network coverage, power consumption, deployment cost, and operational cost.

By 2014, the total market for smart meter and SSL (smart street lighting) PLC ICs will exceed 1.1 billion euros. ADD is focused on capitalizing on this opportunity by developing PLC SoCs for low voltage electric grid transmission medium. The company has developed a full digital process using patent-pending DSP technology to implement analog functions, enabling high efficiency and low power.

ADD offers a variety of PLC modem ICs that integrate an enhanced 8051 microcontroller, MAC and a Modem circuit. The ADD1021 is aimed at power line communications using OFDM modulation. The ADD1020 uses OFDM modulation compatible with PRIME specification and is oriented to high performance and robust AMR systems. The ADD1010 implements a full PLC node designed for low cost and small AMR & AMM systems using narrow band power line communications. The ADD1000 implements a full PLC node compatible with the EHS/KNX Power Line medium specifications.

ADD and Fujitsu Microelectronics Europe GmbH (FME) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop products for the Automatic Meter Management (AMM) market. FME and ADD will jointly promote PRIME (Powerline Related Intelligent Metering Evolution) based OFDM devices, entirely designed by ADD, to the metering market worldwide.

PRIME (www.prime-alliance.org) is the core of “Open Meter” European initiative for a new Powerline standard. ADD is a member of the Open and Public Extended Network Meter (OPEN Meter) Consortium. The first device was developed based on Fujitsu’s manufacturing technology. A comprehensive roadmap of devices for OFDM-based meters has also been agreed.

ADD and Aftek are also collaborating to develop products for the AMM market. Aftek will make use of ADD PLC chips to develop and/or enhance their home and building automation solutions such as Smart Grid, Digihome Solutions as well as Smart Metering Solutions. ADD will also introduce Aftek to utility companies associated with ADD, while Aftek will provide help in establishing ADD presence in the Indian and global market. ADD will provide PRIME access to Aftek.

ADD is also a member of the OPERA consortium, which consists of utilities, technology companies, research institutions and consultants. OPERA (PLC European Research Alliance) was launched by the European Commission as part of its larger broadband project “Broadband for All.” One of the goals of OPERA is to develop the new European Powerline standard. ADD was appointed to define the draft for the gateway from broadband PLC to narrowband PLC in the applications of AMR and home automation.

The company leads the Spanish consortium of WITNESS project, inside the EUREKA European program for R&D projects. WITNESS aims to develop new techniques for short-range wireless communication using very low power techniques ADD is also a partner in the LOTPIM project, which aims to develop new low cost, predictive maintenance system for industrial machinery, based on induction motor current analysis, wireless network and self-power technologies. Future plans include low power RF using Zigbee.

Since June 2009, 20 PRIME nodes have been installed using the ADD1021. The ADD1010 FSK solution has finished in the first position among PLC solutions in a Bhopal, India pilot. The device provided 100% network coverage and 2400 bps under extremely difficult conditions. In collaboration with Burnon, ADD has developed a State Power Grid compliant communication module for China. First pilots based on ADD Chinese OFDM could start mid 2011 with full support for deployments by the end of 2011.

Guillaume d’Eyssautier, CEO (most recently CEO of picoChip)

Alfredo Sanz, Ph.D., Founder and COO (Professor of Department of Electronic & Communications of the University of Zaragoza)

Jose-Ignacio Garcia, Ph.D., Founder and CTO (Professor of Department of Electronic & Communications of the University of Zaragoza)

Jesus Teijeiro, Worldwide VP Sales

Robbin Luo, GM China (previously with Teridian)