Tech group in ‘significant’ development deal with Asian partner

Nanoco Group has signed a development agreement for a project with a “very significant” Asian chemical company.

The business, a University of Manchester spin-out developing materials used in the manufacture of monitors and TV screens, declined to divulge the value of the deal, but said, if successful, would increase its revenue expectations for fiscal year 2021 by approximately 10%, and a similar amount for 2022.

It said the project builds on recently completed feasibility work relating to the development of a potential new nano-material for the customer and the continued supply of a previously developed material.

If the new nano-material is successfully developed, it will be suitable for use in electronic devices across a number of sensing applications and end markets.

The first phase of the project will complete in the second half of calendar year 2021. The agreement outlines two further phases that are contingent on the success of the first phase and have the potential to run through to the end of fiscal year 2022.

Chief executive Brian Tenner said: “This is an important expansion of our portfolio of products for use in infra-red sensing applications.

“Nanoco now offers a growing range of materials covering an increasing breadth of operational wavelengths for sensors in a multitude of potential end user applications.

“Our new customer is a very significant player in electronics supply chains globally.

“They further diversify our customer base and add additional routes to market with their own extensive customer list.”

He added: “This additional reach into leading global technology companies creates further momentum for Nanoco in commercialising our nano-materials for use in sensing applications.

“Market interest in sensing applications continues to grow and Nanoco’s IP-backed platform technology remains a robust foundation for our work in these fields of use. With other Nanoco customers outlining their product road maps, we can see clear routes to commercialising our technology and to exploiting our Runcorn production facility in the short to medium term.”