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Listing: Oxfordshire’s clean growth trailblazers

 4 mins | By Karen David
 | Energy | Sustainability | OxfordshireGreentech | Nov 15th 2019

At its recent Energy Strategy launch, OxLEP declared Oxfordshire’s clean energy sector is capable of growing 11 per cent a year between now and 2030, raising its annual contribution to the regional economy to £1.35bn.

Some of the firms cited by OxLEP as making waves in the clean growth space are listed here, and TechTribe Oxford has added more with technologies and business practices set to make serious in-roads in the challenge against global heating.  The business network Oxfordshire Greentech also has a growing membership of firms in the low carbon sector.

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Astroscale aims to solve the problem of space debris with its ELSA-d project, which adds a small plate to satellites to enable them to be readily de-orbited – pushed back into the earth’s atmosphere to burn up – when they reach the end of life. astroscale.com

 

Brill Power is pioneering approaches to extend the effective life of batteries through intelligent control of the multiple cells. The system is designed to work with batteries using different chemistries sourced from a variety of manufacturers, extending lifetimes by up to 60 per cent. brillpower.com

 

First Light Fusion researches energy generation by inertial confinement fusion. It is exploring a number of research directions with the prime focus being power generation. UKAEA in Culham recently confirmed the viability of First Light Fusion’s concept of a ‘fusion island,’ a sub-system that converts fusion energy into heat and manages the fuel supply in a fusion power plant. Firstlightfusion.com

 

Green Unit Limited designs and manufactures modular, ultra-low carbon ‘ARC’ eco-buildings, which are used for offices, residential buildings and classrooms. greenunit.co.uk

 

Mixergy provides hot water cylinders designed to optimise energy consumption, achieve better utilisation of renewables and provide intelligent control over water usage. The Mixergy tank is the first domestic hot water product to be approved by the National Grid to provide grid flexibility services. In partnership with ReStore, part of Centrica Group, Mixergy is facilitating frequency response services to balance the UK’s energy network. mixergy.co.uk

 

Nexeon has produced silicon anodes in rechargeable Li-ion batteries that enable significantly greater energy density and battery capacity to be achieved, providing lighter batteries with more power and longer lifetime between charges. nexeon.co.uk

 

Oxford nanoSystems has developed nanospiked coatings that dramatically increase the efficiency of heat exchangers, a key component of air conditioning units, which account for a fifth of electricity used in buildings globally. oxfordnanosystems.com

 

Oxford PV is a pioneer and technology leader in the field of perovskite solar cells that increase the power generation capabilities of solar panels. Since 2010 it has raised almost £140m in funding and has plans to move into full commercial manufacturing. oxfordpv.com

 

OXWASH runs an environmentally sustainable laundry and dry cleaning service with low carbon machines that use reclaimed water and catch microfibres, collecting and delivering entirely by zero emission cargo bikes. oxwash.com

 

Pedal & Post is Oxford’s cycle courier, delivering just about anything from veg boxes to newspapers and NHS blood supplies with a fleet of cargo bikes. pedalandpost.co.uk

 

Torchbox digital agency became employee-owned this year, and prides itself on its values in work and the environment. Co-founder Olly Willans: “One of the strongest reasons people join Torchbox is they don’t want to work for banks, the defence industry or big pharma. They want to be working for people making the world a better place.” torchbox.com

 

Velocys provides sustainable fuels for aviation and heavy goods transport, using waste materials, to cut greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality. The firm’s proprietary Fischer-Tropsch technology enables the production of drop-in fuels from waste materials. velocys.com

 

Verditek Plc commercialises clean technology solutions such as highly efficient and light-weight photovoltaic cells, including the first to incorporate graphene. verditek.com

 

YASA makes lightweight and powerful electric motors and controllers which enable vehicle hybridisation and electrification. In 2019, Ferrari selected YASA’s electric motor for its first hybrid production series supercar, the SF90 Stradale. Yasa.com

 

 

Read our report from the OxLEP Energy Strategy launch here:

About the Author

Karen David

Karen has a long career in writing and communications in technology, finance and creative sectors in Oxfordshire, the UK and internationally.

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