News
Ultra-high temperature sensors get £3m investment to improve efficiency of power generation
Carbon Trust joins existing investors in backing world-leading British technology
Industrial technology firm Oxsensis, based in Oxford, has raised £3m in a funding round in which Carbon Trust Investments Limited has joined existing investors Albion Ventures, Seven Spires, Frog Capital, the Rainbow Seed Fund, and several high net worth individuals.
Oxsensis has developed the world’s highest temperature sensors which can be used in gas turbines, for example in power stations. They are capable of measuring heat and pressure in the harshest conditions where temperatures can reach over 1000°C: the equivalent of molten lava and hundreds of degrees hotter than traditional sensors can stand.
With more accurate readings comes the possibility of running turbines at higher combustion temperatures, thereby increasing efficiency, lowering operating costs, and reducing carbon emissions.
The funding will support business development and help Oxsensis to further extend its sensor technology, which will have a market advantage by providing more accurate data than existing technologies and enabling optimal turbine efficiency. The company is already progressing from technology development to full scale commercialisation with long-term customer trials currently underway of initial products in its WavePhireTM sensor range.
The technology also has applications in the aerospace and automotive industries for helping engines to run more efficiently.
Peter Linthwaite, Managing Partner, of CT Investment Partners said:
“Oxsensis is a great British company that has both significant commercial and carbon-saving potential. Oxsensis’s technology has strong customer validation, and the company has made significant technical progress under the leadership of an impressive management team.”
David Gahan, CEO of Oxsensis Ltd said:
“We are delighted that Carbon Trust Investments is joining with the strong line up of our current investors. Oxsensis technology is supporting developments across three critical carbon intensive industries and has the potential for significant impact.”
Oxsensis won the ‘Industry’ category of the Carbon Trust’s 2009 Innovation Awards which recognise success stories in the UK’s growing low carbon economy.
The awards are judged by an independent panel of renowned clean technology-experts and entrants are rigorously assessed against a range of criteria including innovation, carbon saving potential, novel application and commercial potential.
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