Nurturing hi-tech expertise

Mar 19 2008 By The Journal

NorthStar Equity Investors (NSEI) is helping exciting new concepts become commercial success stories in the energy and environment sector. NSEI manages the £10m Proof of Concept Fund, designed to be a catalyst for new technology, and the £23m Co-Investment Fund to help fast-growing companies reach their potential.

Applied Superconductor Limited (ASL) from Blyth is developing new technology to improve the safety and stability of electricity networks. They have produced the world’s first commercially viable Superconducting Fault Current Limiters (SCFLs), designed to regulate current flows and reduce surges caused by short circuits.

NorthStar has invested £500,000 as part of a £1.4m funding round which will allow the application to be fine-tuned before it reaches the marketplace. The business had previously received £60,000 from the Proof of Concept Fund.

SFCLs have worldwide applications for connecting the growing number of alternative energy sources to distribution networks. They can also be used in heavily loaded industrial sites, and in areas like Eastern Europe where old networks have to cope with growing loads.

Newcastle-based Alternative Waste Solutions (AWS) operates the largest and most technically advanced plastic bottle reprocessing plant in the UK, with a customer base in Europe and the Far East. NorthStar Equity Investors have injected £400,000 into a £2m equity investment that will underwrite a £14m expansion of AWS’s plastic bottle processing plant.

AWS is looking to lead the UK market in food grade recycled plastics – a fast-growing industry driven by strong customer pressure on drinks companies to use more recycled content in their bottles, and by government authorities to recycle more materials, reducing pressure on landfill sites.

New technology is aiming to harness the power of the tides to deliver clean, green energy. Darlington-based C-Power is using a £60,000 investment from the Proof of Concept Fund to develop marine current turbines that, size for size, can generate energy up to 10 times more efficiently than wind farms.

These underwater turbines will be invisible from the shore. By tapping into an estimated £6bn UK tidal energy market, they have the potential to cut damaging carbon dioxide emissions by reducing the need for fossil fuel-powered reactors. Tidal marine energy is still at a formative stage, and generation is currently sub-commercial.

C-Power is on course to change that, and become the leading provider of sea power in the UK and across Europe.

The number of companies to receive NSEI support is growing. More than 132 firms have been recipients of Proof of Concept Fund investments, while the Co-Investment Fund has backed 23 high-growth ventures.

And NSEI are always keen to hear from ambitious entrepreneurs with a keen eye for commercial success.