Gateshead firm walking on air after £750,000 boost

Mar 10 2010 By Chris Knox, The Journal

A GREEN technology firm expects to go into full production of its environmentally-friendly filtration technology after securing £750,000 of funding.

Gateshead company Nano-porous Solutions Ltd (n-psl) has secured the investment from the Royal Society Enterprise Fund and local business angels, including John Clough, the former chief executive of eaga group, the Newcastle-based environmental support services plc.

The technology, which was developed at the University of Bath, uses tiny hollow fibres to filter out pollutants from gas streams and create compressed air. It can be used in a wide range of industries, including construction, the manufacture of cars, food, pharmaceuticals and healthcare.

The firm, which was launched in 2007, has managed to expand its team from three to 16 and expects to create more jobs as it nears full-scale production by the end of the year to sell into a market it says is worth more than £60m-a-year worldwide.

Compressed air also has the potential to lower energy consumption by up to half that used by current technology.

It is estimated that this could translate into savings of more than four million tonnes of CO² by the year 2050 in the UK alone.

Colin Billiet, chief executive of n-psl, said: "This investment will enable n-psl to progress to the next stage of commercial development.

"New products are to be introduced to the market using the novel adsorbent hollow fibre technology. Research has been expanded to ensure the technology lead is extended, supporting commercial developments.

"The new investors provide a strategic fit and will strengthen the board of directors, supporting ambitious plans for future growth.

"We expect to begin making and shipping the products by the end of the year, which should help to create jobs in the region.

"This is an exciting stage in the company's development and we expect 2010 to be a turning point in its growth."

N-psl was set up in 2007 by Mr Billiet – the former boss of filtration giant domnick hunter, one of the region’s biggest businesses. It quickly won £300,000 in funding from the Carbon Trust and One NorthEast.

Mr Billiet oversaw around 2,000 members of staff at domnick hunter and helped the firm reach annual sales of £200m. John Clough retired as chief executive of eaga last year due to ill health after 20 years building up the business into a FTSE-250 company with more than 5,000 staff. It works on environmental services such as the Government’s Warm Front initiative.