Oxsensis appoints Iain Robertson as Chairman of Board of Directors
Oxsensis Ltd Press Release 20 February 2006
Oxsensis secures UK DTI funding for Ultra-High temperature sensor development
Oxsensis Ltd, a spinout company from the CCLRC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL) in Oxfordshire, UK has secured the lead role in a consortium to accelerate development of its harsh environment sensors to facilitate future reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, and the potential for considerable fuel savings in gas turbines for power generation, civil aviation and marine transportation.
Oxsensis is working on advanced sensors based on micromachined sapphire, co-developed by the company with scientists at RAL, to enable the development of combustion systems with much more precise control, offering significant fuel and energy savings for future gas turbine products. The extreme environment sensors also have applicability to energy intensive industries and to car engines.
The £1.07M award is under the DTI’s Technology Strategy programmes and partners include Rolls-Royce plc and RAL. "A step-change in emissions in aviation and power generation requires control instrumentation to go where no sensors have gone before," said Oxsensis’s Chief Executive David Gahan. "The consortium will put sensors right into the heart of some of the world’s most advanced engine and power plant developments".
Minister for Science and Innovation Lord Sainsbury said: "The Technology Strategy helps develop competitive advantage for British businesses so they can be at the cutting edge of the global knowledge-based economy.
"It is about encouraging collaboration in order that companies can invest for the future and develop new world-beating products."
"I congratulate the project participants and wish them every success."
Ends
Higher resolution images are available electronically
Contacts
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Oxsensis Ltd David F Gahan CEO Tel 01235 778120 info@oxsensis.com |
CCLRC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory Natalie Bealing CCLRC Press Officer Tel + 44 (0)1235 445484 n.d.bealing@cclrc.ac.uk |
Further Information
The Sustainable Aviation initiative http://www.sustainableaviation.co.uk/doc/Sustainable-Aviation-full-document.pdf and ACARE (Advisory Council for Aeronautics Research in Europe) http://www.acare4europe.org/ present the following targets, the achievement of which would be facilitated by the consortium’s control sensor technology:
"For CO2, the target is a 50% cut in CO2 emissions per seat kilometre, which means a 50% cut in fuel consumption in
the new aircraft of 2020 relative to new aircraft in 2000. The overall target of 50% reduction will be addressed
through airframe, engine and air traffic management improvements. For NOx, the ACARE target is an 80% cut in NOx
emissions in new aircraft of 2020 relative to new aircraft in 2000, to be achieved largely through aircraft and
engine improvements. Combined with the 50% reduction in fuel consumption, a 60% reduction of the combustor
NOx will give an approximate 80% reduction of total NOx produced at cruise altitudes."
Oxsensis’ sensor technology is based on the micromachining of super resistant materials such as single-crystal sapphire (melting point >2000C) together with innovative fibre optic interrogation techniques which give high sensitivity and immunity from electro-magnetic interference (EMI) effects common in turbo-machinery such as gas turbines.
Oxsensis Ltd
Oxsensis is a spin-out from CCLRC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Oxfordshire formed in 2003. The company is backed by Venture Capital from Seven Spires Investments Ltd, Rainbow Seed Fund and Strathdon plc, together with prominent individual investors. www.oxsensis.com
Rolls-Royce plc
Rolls-Royce operates in four global markets - civil aerospace, defence aerospace, marine and energy. It employs around 35,000 worldwide, of which 21,000 are in the UK. The company is investing in technology and capability that can be exploited in each of these sectors to create a competitive range of products. www.rolls-royce.com
CCLRC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL)
CCLRC is one of the UK’s research councils. It owns and operates world-leading large-scale science research facilities at its three sites: the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Oxfordshire, the Daresbury Laboratory in Cheshire and the Chilbolton Observatory in Hampshire. CCLRC is actively pursuing commercialisation of its diverse intellectual property base through its technology transfer company CLIK Knowledge Transfer. www.cclrc.ac.uk
Credits & Links
Article written by Oxsensis.www.oxsensis.com
