UK technology SMEs networking with US firms and potential investors can open doors
If you’re going to San Francisco, be sure to take... some cool technology to impress the Yanks. That was what several start-up businesses from these shores did last month as they participated in the most recent Clean and Cool Mission to the US, showing off the best of British environmentally friendly engineering technology to an audience of potential investors, academics and North American firms engaged in similar types of venture.
Among the companies taking part in the event was AdFerTech, which produces energy through anaerobic digestion, while creating a liquid that can be converted into a nutrient-rich, solid, low-cost fertiliser. Cogent Heat Energy Storage Systems, another firm on the San Francisco trade mission, is developing a process that uses natural gas to generate electricity in a way that takes carbon dioxide out of the air. The result, says the company, is that there is less CO2 in the air than there was at the beginning: the more gas you use, the cleaner the air. Demand Logic, meanwhile, has developed a ‘health monitor’ for buildings. Its online managed service uses realtime, big data analytics to address maintenance problems and wasted energy through a private platform. Insights into building performance can start to be delivered within two days of installation, without fitting new meters.
Another company on the San Francisco visit, Upside Energy, pays people not to use energy. By operating a cloud service that coordinates the power flow to and from UPS batteries, Upside creates a ‘virtual energy store’. This energy capacity is sold to National Grid to help balance supply and demand, with the battery owner receiving 75% of the income. The company explains that it is trying to alleviate stress on the grid in Britain: at peak times, as National Grid has warned, it runs close to full capacity – creating the risk of blackouts, increasing the cost of electricity, and necessitating more carbon-emitting energy generation. Upside Energy is attempting to enable households and small businesses to get paid to reduce their energy usage at peak times by operating a cloud-computing service that coordinates the charge and discharge cycles of the batteries they own.
The aim of January’s week-long Clean and Cool event, says its founder Guy Pattison, is to help 16 of our “most promising early stage” and innovative clean-tech small firms to do business in the US. It is intended to help winning companies – the firms selected for the mission were whittled down from more than 80 applicants – develop quality contacts with investors and partners, gain insight into their markets, and improve their pitches and profiles.
“We position this differently from a trade mission – it is an entrepreneur mission for early-stage companies,” Pattison tells PE during the week before the companies headed out for the event. “They may well benefit from feedback from overseas, and adopt it – and adapt. The result is that they become more successful and grow faster.” He says it is important that the mission selects the most promising companies in the UK for exposure to the thriving clean-tech industry of California. “We are interested in companies that are looking at long-term challenges in terms of resource efficiency and climate change – the challenges of people living longer and increasing urbanisation – and a backdrop of urgency in terms of finding solutions.”
One participant on the mission that was expecting the event to give it a boost was Carbon Clean Solutions. Aniruddha Sharma, the company’s chief executive and co-founder, has developed an innovative carbon-capture technology to reduce large-scale emissions of CO2, comprising a recyclable solvent that can be used to enable faster, more environmentally friendly and low-cost CO2 capture.
Sharma is looking to attract £10 million into the business. He says the average price per tonne for CO2 capture is between £40 and £60. His solution reduces this to about £25, he claims. It can be retrofitted to existing power stations, made integral to new plant, or fitted as part of the package provided by existing CO2 scrubbing systems. Sharma says he expects the technology to be used in the pilot carbon capture and storage projects at Drax and Peterhead to augment their performance. The Department of Energy and Climate Change agrees, and has awarded Carbon Clean Solutions a grant of £3 million. Of the San Francisco mission, Sharma says: “When there is a group of companies going to the US, the big guns pay attention. There is a wider network you can access, from investment managers to government officials. The mission makes a lot of sense.”
Charged Up: The Bboxx solar power system could be of benefit to many people in developing countries
Another Clean and Cool participant seeking further investment from the mission was Bboxx, which has developed a plug-and-play solar power system that can be purchased through a monthly payment plan, reducing upfront costs. Products include solar power kits for the home and solar-powered accessories such as LED lights, phone chargers and refrigerators. The aim is to provide off-grid households in the developing world with enough power for their needs on a day-by-day basis. The solar power systems can be remotely monitored and controlled.
The company’s founders, including Varun Sharma, director of corporate development, are engineers who met while studying electrical engineering at Imperial College London. The systems generate between 15 and 50W a day.
“Our products are ideal for areas where extending the grid isn’t feasible because of affordability,” says Sharma. He says the company has already had an impact on the lives of 210,000 people in the developing world – but that is a “drop in the ocean”; 1.6 billion people lack grid electrification. Bboxx’s target is to provide electricity to 20 million people by 2020.
But the company isn’t going to achieve that goal without additional investment, which is needed for mass manufacture. Clean and Cool provides access to Bay Area investors and potential partners, says Sharma. “The business was inspired by the fact that a large proportion of the planet doesn’t have access to continuous electrical power, but to make meaningful change there has to be a commercially driven case. To attract third parties, you have to be able to convince them that there is some future economic benefit.”
In the UK raising capital can be tough, he says. “There is the human capital there, and the infrastructure – what is lacking is the pool of cash and the types of investor. If we were in biotech or pharma-related research, it would be different.”
Another participant in this year’s mission is addressing a different area of renewable power technology. Nick Kitchin of Cumulus Energy Storage is developing a battery that saves the electrical energy produced by intermittent renewable sources, including wind, solar and tidal. The rechargeable, zinc-copper battery is based on low-cost existing chemistries, is made from reusable materials, and has a lifespan of 30 years. “Our technology is exciting because of its simplicity, scaleability, and price point,” he says.
The system, which would compete with geological energy storage installations such as pumped hydro, which account for most of the market, has received British patent protection. International patents are pending.
Kitchin hopes to make the system in Sheffield, providing employment for hundreds of people. He previously took part in 2013’s Clean and Cool event, which led to £250,000 of investment in his business. He suggests that competing battery chemistries such as lithium-ion are too expensive for energy storage. A round of finance “running into the millions” is now required for Cumulus. “I’m optimistic that the contacts we are getting will facilitate raising that money – either in the UK or the US or a combination of both,” he says.
For Kitchin, as for pioneers of earlier eras, the US is a “land of opportunity”. The reputation of British engineering holds good overseas, but it can be difficult to access groups of angel investors at home, he says. “When we talk about Sheffield, it’s clear that the UK has a good worldwide reputation for invention. But what happens is we grow to a certain size, and then sell to someone outside the country. What we want to do is something different. We want a business worth hundreds of millions that is exporting 80% of its product. We want to be seen as a success story in the UK.”
Pattison agrees that there are barriers to growth at home. “I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve heard investors say ‘stick a few zeroes in front of that figure, and I’d be interested’. He adds that companies on the San Francisco mission can hope to learn “the most credible lessons from their own peer group. Some are a few steps ahead of them – and that is what going to San Francisco is all about,” he says.
“There is a huge opportunity in the US, there’s a lot we can learn. The US is the number-one clean-tech market in the world. There is a huge opportunity there for British firms.
“For companies that are interested in taking part in the mission, the impact of going to the States can be transformational. It’s about meeting people who can make a difference – and increasing your ambition.”
Clean, cool companies
Other firms that took part in this year’s mission to San Francisco include:
Green Fuels Research
Green Fuels has built on more than 10 years’ experience in the biofuels sector to create a low-cost and energy-efficient bio-aviation fuel for jet engines. The patented fuel is developed from a simple technological process, enabling existing biodiesel suppliers to upgrade to producing bio-aviation fuel and enter this lucrative new market.
Libertine
Libertine has developed a suite of ‘linear power system’ technologies for use in a wide range of power generation, heating, cooling and transport applications. The technology could make decentralised power generation the norm, says founder Sam Cockerill, bringing clean, reliable and affordable power to where it is needed, and potentially transforming the lives of hundreds of millions of people.
NGB
NGB’s fast-working technology turns biodegradable feedstock into biogas for energy production, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture. The company claims its technology works six times faster than competitor products, recovering up to 30% more biogas.
Perpetual Vehicle to Grid
Perpetual Vehicle to Grid (Perpetual V2G) Systems has developed a disruptive power solution, which combines lithium batteries and a bespoke management system to enable realtime carbon reduction. This technology captures energy and carbon that would otherwise be lost from a vehicle and converts it into usable power for refrigeration in delivery vehicles, electricity in emergency vehicles and other energy needs.
Renovagen
Renovagen’s transportable solar power solution enables self-sufficient power in off-grid locations. The patented, roll-array system is a pre-wired, rollable sheet of solar panels, which can generate 10 times more power than existing transportable solar solutions, with much faster installation, according to the company.
Sefaira
Sefaira enables architects and engineers to design high-performance buildings using cloud computing-based analysis. The system gives designers realtime feedback on the energy and daylighting performance of their buildings, allowing them to create much better designs that can cut energy consumption by as much as 30-50% – “revolutionising” the design process.
Sunamp
Sunamp is a thermal energy storage technology firm that has developed a highly efficient, non-toxic, low-cost heat battery system. Heat storage is key to making renewables and energy efficiency work, and the firm claims its batteries can deliver heat and hot water on demand, saving domestic customers £200 per year.