Investment boost for fight against climate change
07/04/2006
"There are strong market opportunities for new energy efficient technologies and this risk funding from NESTA will help both St Andrews Fuel Cells and SolarStructure to seize this opportunity."
NESTA has invested £147,500 in the fuel cell technology and £30,000 in the solar power innovation, a total of £177,500 in
this burgeoning environmental technology sector.
Fuel cells are essential tools in the fight against climate change as they generate power more efficiently than current technologies.
However, until now they have been more expensive.
Scotland-based St Andrews Fuel Cells Ltd will develop a new solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) design called SOFCRoll that will
help to make fuel cells price competitive with other forms of energy conversion for the first time due to its much lower manufacturing
and materials costs.
SOFCRoll reduces the number of manufacturing steps from three down to one single step where all the components are combined
and heated as a single unit. The design is also self-supporting which eliminates the need for additional materials to support
the electrically active components, resulting in further cost reduction.
SolarSkin,also developed by a team of UK experts, is designed to replace solar blinds and shadings in glass-clad façades and skylights. It comprises modules that are essentially transparent and provide multifunctional capability, combining many of the aspects of other solar technologies in one unique product.
As well as harnessing the sun's power to generate electricity, and potentially hot water, this innovation is distinctive in
its ability to exploit sunlight permeating a glazed building for interior lighting and climate conditioning as well as energy
generation. Savings on artificial lighting can be as much as 50% and the use of expensive energy-consuming air-conditioning
systems in hot weather can be almost eliminated whilst generating a substantial proportion of the energy needs of the building.
Mark White, Director of Invention and Innovation at NESTA, said:
"NESTA's role is to identify any early stage new technology with world class potential and provide the support and investment to help it commercialise. The drivers for new energy technologies are massive - from high oil and gas prices and global warming, to security of fuel supply and electrical grid capacity and reliability. Therefore there are strong market opportunities for new energy efficient technologies and this risk funding from NESTA will help both St Andrews Fuel Cells and SolarStructure to seize this opportunity."
NESTA's investment in SOFCRoll is part of a total funding round worth £295,000, with other investment coming from a private investor. SolarStructure is also receiving support from the Carbon Trust incubator and Imperial College London.