£300,000 backing for green technology firm

Dec 15 2007 by Andrew Mernin, The Journal

AFLEDGLING green technology firm has laid out plans to become a £1m-a-year company by 2009 after winning over £300,000 in funding.

Nanoporous solutions limited (n-psl), which makes environmentally-friendly filtration technology, was set up in July by Colin Billiet – the former boss of filtration giant Domnick Hunter, one of the region’s biggest businesses.

The firm, which is currently in negotiations for a premises on Team Valley in Gateshead, remains in the research and development phase but has won a £250,000 grant from the Carbon Trust which will help it turn a profit by 2009. The company, which expects its workforce to grow from seven to 20 in the next 18 months, has also won a £75,000 grant from regional development agency One NorthEast.

The business aims to distribute technology developed at Bath University which will provide the filtration industry with more energy-efficiency and help it reduce its carbon footprint.

As well as attracting interest from major filtration businesses, the technology could be used in other sectors reliant on air filtration, such brewing or dentistry. The firm will use the funding to develop and commercialise its new technology and aims to turn a profit by selling a significant proportion of its products overseas.

Mr Billiet said: “We are very globally orientated. Around 83% of Domnick Hunter’s sales were global and we are aiming for two-thirds of our sales to be from overseas.

“We are in the research and development stage and we have a number of projects which are being funded, but we are working on commercial arrangements and we expect to be manufacturing commercially within a year.” N-psl, which is also working on products that could be used as aircraft cabin air purifiers and virus filters for face masks, was set up on the back of £400,000 investment.

Mr Billiet is the majority investor alongside investment from company directors Neil McPherson and Ian Fraser, while Bath University owns 20% of the firm.

Under Mr Billiet’s tenure at the helm of Domnick Hunter, where he oversaw around 2,000 members of staff, the company reached annual sales of £200m.

He stepped down as chief executive of the Birtley-based group last year after a successful £251m sale to US engineering group Parker Hannifin.