Warwickshire engineering firm secures funding to continue innovative work
A WARWICKSHIRE firm licensing IP to technical and commercial partners has become one of the first recipients of a new investment scheme organised by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.
The Stephenson fund has been introduced by IMechE to back companies developing cutting-edge UK technologies.
The new fund backs technologies that “give an impulse to invention likely to be useful to the world” – the original statement of purpose from George Stephenson, who originally founded the IMechE.
Napton-based Lontra has projected annual licensed product sales of more than £20m. Its flagship innovation is the Blade Compressor, a patent protected compact, double acting rotary compressor which is targeted for energy intensive industries such as water treatment and industrial compressed air.
Lontra said that much like George Stephenson’s miner’s lamp and the Rocket locomotive, the Blade Compressor promised revolutionary benefits. It said heavy industry depended on compressors to deliver power to manufacturing lines, drive furnaces and convey materials. Collectively such compressors account for 10% of the world’s industrial electricity consumption. For 60 years, improvements in efficiency have been measured in single percentage figures.
Lontra said the Blade Compressor was the first clean-sheet design in 80 years. The company claims it can achieve a 20% reduction in energy consumption.
Steve Lindsey, founder and CEO of Lontra and designer of the Blade Compressor, said: “It’s great to be the first to receive support and investment from the Institution’s Stephenson Fund. This will support further development of our Blade Compressor as we seek new licensees. We’re proud that the industrial revolution continues to this day and that the UK remains at the forefront of engineering innovation.”
Backed by the Carbon Trust and Innovate UK, the Blade Compressor is already licensed and in production for the water industry. Lontra said the additional funding would contribute to further research and development to optimise the design of the device.
Stephen Tetlow, chief executive of IMechE, said: “This investment is not just about providing monetary investment, but about connecting Lontra to the vast resources and network of the Institution and its membership.
“The Stephenson Fund fulfils the Institution’s original purpose to give an impulse to invention and also help companies overcome the investment hurdle between Research and Development and bringing a product to market.
“I am really excited that through the fund the Institution is able to support Lontra, as well as other companies, in developing exciting and innovative technologies which really are inventions likely to be useful to the world. This is the Institution getting back to its roots.”
A license for the Blade Compressor has been granted to global engineering company Sulzer for the municipal and regulated waste water industry and production units are already being installed at customer premises.
The Stephenson fund is independently managed by Midven, which manages six funds totalling over £70m. It supports firms in a wide variety of sectors, including software, bio technology, healthcare, engineering, manufacturing and distribution. Midven is also investing in Amalyst and Lontra from its £8m ERDF- supported Early Advantage fund, which provides investment for high-growth businesses at start-up and early-stage in the West Midlands.
The Stephenson fund’s other investments are with fuel cell catalyst developer Amalyst, sensor company Oxsensis, fusion energy company Tokamak Energy and space technology business Oxford Space Systems.
