Latest Sci-Tech Daresbury Future Club cohort revealed
Science and innovation campus Sci-Tech Daresbury has unveiled the third cohort of its exclusive business growth scheme, The Future Club.
The Future Club programme provides a range of technical and business support to innovative science and technology start-ups and will help each business to realise its growth potential.
Launched in 2021, the programme sees the Liverpool City Region campus handpick five dynamic young businesses to receive access to an invaluable array of business support and networking opportunities.
This year’s group was chosen in recognition of its significant business potential in developing products and services to meet technological, environmental, health and social needs. It includes a number of companies who have spun out from universities in Liverpool and Manchester.
Membership benefits include early access to the business growth programmes, partnerships, and networks at the campus, as well as receiving greater visibility within the business and scientific communities in the North West and beyond.
The campus’s vibrant working environment provides a range of hot desk, office, laboratory, and workshop facilities across a number of buildings. the Future Club’s class of 2023 will have access to Sci-Tech Daresbury’s renowned networking events and collaboration opportunities.
Each of the Future Club members will benefit from the expertise of Sci-Tech Daresbury’s Gold Partners, 11 handpicked organisations that offer first class support for Sci-Tech Daresbury companies in a range of business and research areas, including Marks and Clerk, IP experts, RTC North, which manages the Innovate UK Edge programme, and the University of Liverpool. In addition, Active Coach and Techcelerate Ventures have agreed to provide further support and expertise to Future Club members for the third year running.
In addition, the Future Club companies will have access to some handpicked mentors from the Sci-Tech Daresbury network. These are entrepreneurs with many years of experience and success who are willing to share their time, knowledge, and expertise to help these early stage companies develop and implement the right strategies for their business.
The 2023 intake is:
Abjak, a Merseyside based food-tech company on a mission to celebrate cultures around the globe. It is building and scaling authentic culture-based food brands through a network of delivery-only cloud kitchens. The Abjak kitchen operating system (A-KOS) integrates hardware and software innovation to automate food preparation stages, and partnering brands are listed on an exclusive subscription marketplace platform, offering them higher profitability through multiple channels, accelerated growth, at reduced overheads.
Abjak founder, Rudy Parengal, said: “As a former student ambassador at Sci-Tech Daresbury, I have had the privilege of working closely with its team and witnessing the ground breaking innovation at the campus. It is one of the most exciting places to be in the country as far as tech start-ups are concerned.”
Allgreen Energy aims to contribute towards achieving the global net zero target and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 7 goal of “affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all”. It undertakes business and R&D activities and develops innovative battery technology and energy management systems for renewable energy transformation. Through using smart green energy solutions to increase energy efficiency, Allgreen Energy will develop technology to reduce the cost of energy bills and carbon emissions by maximising the use of renewable energy and increasing overall energy efficiency.
Founder, George Huang, said: “It is so exciting for us to join the Sci-Tech Daresbury Future Club. We focus on reducing carbon emissions by developing battery storage and energy management technology to enable more renewable energy. The campus is an ideal place for us with its facilities and resources to support technology development and business growth. We look forward to setting a base on campus and building relationships within the Sci-Tech Daresbury community.”
Clean Power is focused on decarbonising off-grid applications by the deployment of its novel Hydrogen PEM fuel cell systems. Led by Nick Avis, Clean Power provides fuel cells with world-leading durability, at a cost which is up to 50% lower than present systems. Current systems are targeted at stationary power applications, with future systems planned to address the transportation market. The unique architecture of Clean Power’s fuel cells makes them suitable for operation in challenging environments and at high altitudes/elevations.
Nick Avis said: “I’ve been a big fan and frequent attendee of the events organised at Sci-Tech Daresbury and its developing high tech start-up ecosystem which wraps around new companies and helps them develop and grow. I look forward to working closely with other cohort members and participating fully in this programme.”
UK companies are facing an urgent need to decarbonise, so Enturi Solutions has developed a pioneering wind turbine with an eco-friendly energy storage station, to contribute significantly towards net zero goals and future energy security.
The firm’s Alex Shakeshaft said: “We are thrilled to become one of the newest members of Sci-Tech Daresbury’s Future Club. This opportunity will continue to bolster our visibility and credibility, expand our collaborative network, and provide access to expertise to continue our pioneering work. We greatly appreciate this opportunity and look forward to our future with Sci-Tech Daresbury.”
Spotlight Pathology is developing artificial intelligence decision support tools for the diagnosis of blood cancers. Blood cancer patient outcomes are highly dependent on a fast and accurate diagnosis. Diagnosis is performed by highly specialised pathologists as part of hospital laboratory services. This workforce is under increasing pressure due to a shortage of trained professionals, a high proportion of which are approaching retirement, and too few trainees in the pipeline.
Spotlight’s tools will reduce the amount of time required for diagnosis, improve the standardisation of diagnosis across centres and reduce the amount of time patients have to wait to receive their diagnosis and start treatment.
CEO, Martin Fergie, said: “We are looking forward to this opportunity to engage with the wider community at Daresbury and benefit from the expertise and access to the network of professionals to support us commercialise our health technology for the benefit of patients in the future.”
Sci-Tech Daresbury is one of the UK’s leading science and innovation campuses and is a private-public joint venture partnership between developer Langtree, the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) and Halton Borough Council.
It was recently announced that Sci-Tech Daresbury’s newest development, Violet, is nearing capacity following exceptional demand from cutting edge businesses following its opening in 2022.
John Downes, chief executive of Langtree and director of Sci-Tech Daresbury, said: “The Future Club is designed to give support to the most exciting start-ups and entrepreneurs in the North West, to help them take their businesses to the next level.
“With the guidance of well established businesses on the campus, the 2023 Future Club cohort have the opportunity to collaborate and create new connections, which will culminate in new and innovative products and services.”
