WIREDGOV

Three innovative start-up companies, each aiming to make the world a better place by addressing the world’s greatest global challenges, have been awarded free access to the unique cutting-edge research facilities and expertise at STFC's Daresbury Laboratory.

PV Glaze, BiSN and Chris Underwood are all winners in a challenge run by STFC's Futures team, which seeks to exploit scientific research to find solutions to the government's grand challenges in energy, environment, healthcare and security.

The I-TAC Futures Challenge was aimed directly at any UK company involved in research and development within the global grand challenge areas. Each winner has received six months free access to their own dedicated, fully equipped laboratory at Daresbury's Innovations Technology Access Centre (I-TAC), which provides unrivalled access to more that £3m cutting edge scientific research facilities. In addition to this, the winners will have access to all of the wider benefits associated with moving on to the Daresbury Science and Innovation Campus, including STFC's scientific expertise and the business development support of the Daresbury Innovation Centre.

I-TAC Manager Dr Martin Morlidge said; "When choosing the winners, we were specifically looking for how well their businesses and ideas fit in with STFC's core challenges in environment, energy and healthcare, and also how STFC can add real value to these companies. By giving them access to our knowledge, infrastructure, scientific and business expertise we will help them to flourish into substantial, successful companies that are benefiting wider society and boosting the UK economy.

"We were really impressed with the calibre of the competition entries and are excited to be welcoming each of them onto the Campus and providing them with all the support they need to get the most out of their time here."

About the three winners

BiSN is a newly formed, highly technical service company serving the oil and gas industry. At I-TAC, BiSN will be carrying out a study on enhanced oil recovery, with a view to enabling better access to oil reserves which have previously been abandoned and facilitating the extraction of oil from them, resulting in more efficient use of resources. The study will allow BiSN to offer its clients a more complete service, and will put BiSN in a position to offer cutting-edge services to the worldwide oil and gas industry.

Winning the I-TAC Futures Challenge will provide us with an unrivalled combination of scientific technology, expertise and contacts that we just couldn't otherwise access

Leo Richards
BiSN

BiSN's Leo Richards said: "Winning the I-TAC Futures Challenge will provide us with an unrivalled combination of scientific technology, expertise and contacts that we just couldn't otherwise access. It will enable us to develop our business and take a more scientific approach to our work, allowing us to offer a more professional, complete and enhanced service to our clients."

PV Glaze is developing a renewable energy technology using silicon based cells that can convert solar radiation into electricity. Normally opaque due to the nature of their materials, these transparent, high clarity solar modules, known as Building Integrated Photo-Voltaics, will enable such renewable energy technologies to be better incorporated into the construction of buildings, motor vehicles and agricultural greenhouses, resulting in less CO2 in the air and less reliance on imported fuels.

David Ruchat at PV Glaze said: "I-TAC will not only provide us with access to the kind of facilities that are normally out of reach for small companies, but also access to the wider benefits offered by the Campus such as networking with others in the solar energy industry, collaborating with contacts in the field and allowing us to overcome technological and commercialisation challenges."

Dr Chris Underwood is working on a novel design for a Vascular Access Graft, a type of artificial blood vessel which is implanted in the arms of people who require lifesaving dialysis. Incorporating a new type of biomaterial, this product is intended to prevent some of the common complications currently associated with this procedure and the unique materials technology being used has the potential to lead to improved product designs for other cardiovascular applications as well, such as bypass grafting in the legs or around the heart. Access to I-TAC will enable Dr Underwood to make the prototypes to prove his design concept and go on to develop other related products, including some for use in the emerging field of tissue engineering.

Commenting on the prize, Dr Underwood said: "The availability of the unique combination of resources within I-TAC will be absolutely invaluable. The medical products that we can now develop within I-TAC will lead to a better clinical prognosis for many cardiovascular procedures and make patient care overall more successful, safer and less expensive."

Further 2nd prize and runner up awards are soon to be announced.