Electricity-saving nanotech start-up to move to the UK
Sunday, 17 December 2006
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A start-up nanotech company, which has secured $250m (£130m) in funding commitments and promises to significantly cut the world's energy usage, is to set up its global headquarters in the UK.
AirNatech, which has developed a technology to cut electricity usage in heating, ventilation and air conditioning units by at least 50 per cent, is establishing itself in Cambridge.
The company's backers claim that AirNatech could have a market capitalisation of more than $1bn by the end of next year and will create more than 100 high-skilled jobs in the UK.
AirNatech was created from the merger of UK-based AirNacon and NIL Technology of Denmark and is backed by Bridgehead Group, a US boutique investment bank.
The company decided to move to the UK after meetings with officials from the UK Trade and Investment's Global Entrepreneur Programme, a body set up by the Government to attract hi-tech companies to this country.
AirNatech's nanotechnology works by making heat exchangers, such as those found in air conditioning units, significantly more efficient. The company claims that its specially engineered copper is 40 times more effective at transferring heat than conventional materials.
The technology was originally created by Dr J H Lee, a former Nasa scientist who helped develop the powerless cooling technology in the US space shuttle.
Eric van der Kleij, the British government's senior global dealmaker, said: "We believe that emerging technologies that work towards conserving energy should be supported by government. The harnessing of these complementary technologies which are being acquired by AirNatech will act as a catalyst towards commercialisation."
According to recently published data, for every dollar spent in the US on electricity, 50 cents goes on powering heating systems and refrigeration and air conditioning units.
