EEDA supported training helps Essex business

The pace of technology development often implicates decision-making; it’s easy to feel burdened by constant demands to upgrade. One Essex business used EEDA-supported training to make the right decisions for its future.

Liz Lake is the owner of chartered landscape architects & urban design practice - she recognises the importance of training. “I want highly trained staff because I want a reputation for excellence.”

Liz used the Towards 2010 programme, co-financed by EEDA & the European Social Fund, to part-fund training in CorelDRAW. The opportunity to fund local and specific training was a particular advantage of the programme. The funding also helped the company learn about Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping software. “GIS programmes are the future, but for a company like us they’re a big investment,” said Liz. “We had to decide when to invest. I made an informed choice. As a small business, it was too early for us. We could have wasted a lot of money by investing at the wrong time so Towards 2010 was invaluable.”

Towards 2010 enabled LiZLaKe to make the transition to computer based design quickly. It also saved the company from burdening itself with investment in other technology too early.

From: http://www.eeda.org.uk/4362.asp

Northants company secures million pound funding

Intamac Systems, a Northamptonshire based leader in connected home services, has secured almost £1 million in funding to fuel the development of a new range of wireless-based services.

The cash will support the deployment of a range of Zigbee controlled consumer devices as part of the company’s smart grid power management services.

The latest investment has come from it existing private investors and brings the total amount of reported funding of the company to £3.8 million.

The additional capital will be used to bring new products and services to market in the coming months using a CES as a launch platform. Significant new partners are anticipated to join the ranks of BT and other major partners in the Canadian and Australian markets, building on the lead Intamac has built in developing internet-based services for the broadband-enabled ‘digital home!’

These new services will be managed through Intamac’s web-based home manager service.

The home manager service provides consumers with a simple interface to which they can monitor & control devices in their homes using any mobile device.

The Intamac platform has been used to support the deployment of a range of mobile and broadband based value-added services with corporate partners on three continents. It provides major service providers with white label solutions that can be rapidly deployed helping grow ARPU and reduce customer churn.

A recently announced iPhone application allows consumer to remotely monitor and control their homes, track energy usage in real time, and adopt practical services such as the ability to automatically power down devices left on standby when the home is not occupied or the occupants go to bed. 

From: http://www.businessweekly.co.uk/2009090335433/wireless/intamac-secures-million-pound-funding.html

PECT helps local businesses cut their costs

Environmental charity Peterborough Environmental City Trust (PECT) has helped 17 local businesses to reduce their environmental impact, including Peterborough United Football Club.

The help has been provided as part of a project called Resource Efficiency East which has been funded by the East of England Development Agency (EEDA) and European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The scheme has provided a range of local firms with in-depth environmental support to reduce their carbon footprint and costs.

Rachel Huxley from PECT visited 17 businesses to provide tailored advice on key areas each business should focus on. According to Rachel this varied depending on the nature of the business, “The key environment issues for a manufacturing firm are different from those of an office. This project aimed to help a variety of businesses identify how they could operate in a greener way, whilst at the same time saving them money.”

“This ranged from finding ways to reduce the amount of energy used, or managing waste more effectively so it doesn’t end up in landfill. We were able to save one firm over £2,000 a year just by suggesting they switch to energy saving bulbs.”

“Simple actions really can make a big difference, for example heating costs go up 8% each time you increase the temperature by just one degree.”

Each firm received a review of their premises looking at all the areas the business could save money and reduce resource use. After the visit to each firm they also received a bespoke report detailing which areas to prioritise and how much money they could save by taking various actions.

Some of the suggested ‘quick wins’ for POSH include:

• Replacing light bulbs with energy efficient ones with an estimated saving of £2, 180.00 and 11.5 tonnes of CO2 every year
• An education campaign to ensure lights are switched off in rooms not being used with an estimated saving of £860.00 and 3.5 tonnes of CO2 every year.

Longer term improvements include rainwater harvesting for pitch irrigation, and even for use in toilets and urinals. This could save over 1.5 million litres of water and around £2,000 a year. It is estimate that an ongoing environmental awareness campaign with staff to reduce paper used and waste created would result in further 10% reduction in costs.  

From: http://www.pect.org.uk/news/161-3-august-posh-goes-green

 

Greenwoods Solicitors LLP launches enviroassist

This Spring sees an exciting new development - the launch of enviroassist - a new package of services for businesses in the environmental goods and services sector from Greenwoods Solicitors LLP.

enviroassist not only offers legal services but as Associate, Alastair Gunn explains: “It will enable businesses in this sector to access - through enviroassist - a network of professional service providers who can help provide funds, give effective tax advice, protect intellectual property and who have strong experience of the issues and challenges faced by this sector.”

Key partners involved in Peterborough’s drive towards achieving Environment Capital status attended the launch of enviroassist at Greenwoods on 26 March 2009. The discussion at the event focused on the strong progress being made towards securing Environment Capital status for Peterborough, the strength of the cluster of environmental goods and services businesses in and around Peterborough and the high level of innovation those businesses are delivering.

As part of the launch Greenwoods partnered with Marshall Honda to promote enviroassist and the new - Honda Insight - billed as the ‘world’s most affordable hybrid’ this innovative petrol-hybrid looks set to cause a stir in the marketplace.

Greenwoods has a strong history of supporting Peterborough’s environment future through work with PECT and the establishment of the Eco Innovation Centre. Karin Horsley, Director confirmed: “We are looking forward to working closely with the growing environmental goods and services sector - it is exciting for us and great for Peterborough to be home to - in many cases - world leading innovation.”

To find out more about enviroassist contact Karin Horsley or Alastair Gunn on 01733 887700.

AlertMe Excels with Double Awards Triumph

AlertMe, Europe’s smart home pioneer, has received two prestigious awards in the space of a week.  Last week, AlertMe picked up a Shell Springboard Award of £40,000.  Recognised as the UK’s leading climate change award, this was given to AlertMe for its innovative home Energy Saving service - which allows home owners to measure how much energy they are consuming and automatically controls appliances to reduce energy consumption.  This week, the company also scooped the joint first prize in the Design Week Awards’ Consumer Product Design category alongside Apple’s MacBook Air, in recognition of the unique design of its wireless Home Monitoring and Security service.

Commenting on the decision to attribute the Design Week award to AlertMe, one of the judges said: “Wow!  We have been waiting for something like this to be designed.  It has a genius quality, is a brilliant idea and has a friendly interface.”

Pilgrim Beart, director of AlertMe said: “To have our team’s efforts at making objects of desire of both home security and home energy management recognized by these highly acclaimed awards is absolutely thrilling.  Receiving equal status with the MacBook Air at the Design Week Awards is praise indeed!  Our thanks go to our industrial designers, EG Technology and DesignEdge, for a truly cracking job.”

Adding to this, Danny Godfrey, director of EG Technology said: “”These award-winning products are the culmination of a very close working relationship with an excellent client and design team. We are particularly proud of our design contribution to the SmartPlug, which will make a small but significant contribution to reducing the carbon footprint of AlertMe users.”

Bruce Hutchison, from product design and development consultancy DesignEdge, who was involved in designing the security devices within the kit as well as the packaging, comments: “Our challenge was to create a range of products that not only looked great within the stylish homes of target consumers, but were also as compact as possible and intuitive to use, right down to considering in which order people would open the boxes. It was one of our biggest challenges yet, but well worth it.”

Juice Technology Ltd, Hertfordshire Business Wins £40,000 Climate Change Innovation Prize

A Hoddesdon based business with a big idea for tackling climate change has won a Shell Springboard award of £40,000 giving the business a valuable boost in a programme designed to promote the growth of the low carbon economy in the UK.
Juice Technology Ltd received the award for its range of ultra efficient LED lights that promise to reduce energy consumption by up to 90 per cent compared to current incandescent light bulbs, and are a third more efficient than compact fluorescent lamps.

In contrast to many LED light systems, this lighting is flexible, practical, affordable and useable for a wide variety of purposes and places. It can be used in shop displays, offices, kitchens and the living room, and even includes a unique dimming feature currently not available with any similar products. It also has a long life and minimal electrical waste, unlike compact fluorescent lamps which contain mercury.

Shell Springboard gives a financial boost to innovative, commercially viable business ideas that tackle climate change. The programme encourages a positive business response to the challenge of climate change by providing a no-strings financial boost to small ideas with innovative products and services that could help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and really make a difference.

Ian Turner, Director of Juice Technology Ltd, said: “We’re absolutely delighted that an independent group of judges has recognised the value of our ambition to deliver significant energy savings through world leading lighting goods. The award will allow us to develop our cutting edge product for EU markets and give it the marketing support it needs to raise consumer awareness.”Duncan Macleod, VP Hydrogen & GTL, Shell International Ltd said: “Congratulations to Ian Turner and Juice Technology Ltd. Their LED light systems, which have genuine commercial potential, could have a significant impact on the UK’s carbon emissions. It’s this kind of cutting-edge innovation that has made the UK a world leader in low carbon technology investment. In a difficult economic climate, it has become more important than ever that we continue to foster such independent entrepreneurialism which is so crucial to the UK economy in the long term.”

According to Shell Springboard’s Race Against the Carbon Pound report the UK’s ‘green’ companies attracted over £1billion of venture capital and private equity investment in 2007: 41% of the EU total. This makes the UK the European leader when it comes to attracting venture capital and private equity investment in low carbon technologies, second only to the United States worldwide.

Juice Technology Ltd competed against eight businesses from across the region on 24th February 2009 in London and will now compete to be named as the overall UK winner in London on the 3rd of March.

Ma (Innovation) 2T4 Ltd, based in Essex, and Alertme.com Ltd from Cambridge also received awards of £40,000, and will go forward with Juice Technology Ltd to the UK final on the 3rd of March.

Source: Shell Springboard

Ma (Innovation) 2T4 Ltd, an Essex Business Wins £40,000 Climate Change Innovation Prize

A Chelmsford based business with a big idea for tackling climate change has won a Shell Springboard award of £40,000 giving their business a valuable boost in a programme designed to promote the growth of the low carbon economy in the UK.

Ma (Innovation) 2T4 Ltd received the award for its mechanism that makes green, hybrid cars with smaller engines even more fuel efficient and powerful. The Supercharger Air Hybrid uses the energy created from braking the car to power the downsized engine, which means a more powerful drive for less carbon emissions. Fitting one of these devices to your hybrid car could produce a substantial fuel efficiency improvement, with up to a 40 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions compared with a standard car.

Shell Springboard gives a financial boost to innovative, commercially viable business ideas that tackle climate change. The programme encourages a positive business response to the challenge of climate change by providing a no-strings financial boost to small ideas with innovative products and services that could help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and really make a difference.Jonathan Ma, Business Development Director of Ma (Innovation) 2T4 Ltd said: “We’re very grateful to Shell and the judging panel for the work they’ve put into the Springboard programme and are ecstatic to have won the award. The funding will be transformational for our business and we hope to be able to report back soon on our success in the global market and the CO2 savings we have generated.”

Duncan Macleod, VP Hydrogen & GTL, Shell International Ltd said: “Congratulations to Jonathan Ma and Ma (Innovation) 2T4 Ltd. The Supercharger Air Hybrid not only has genuine commercial potential but could also have a significant impact on the UK’s carbon emissions. It’s this kind of cutting-edge innovation that has made the UK a world leader in low carbon technology investment. In a difficult economic climate, it has become more important than ever that we continue to foster such independent entrepreneurialism which is so crucial to the UK economy in the long term.”According to Shell Springboard’s Race Against the Carbon Pound report the UK’s ‘green’ companies attracted over £1billion of venture capital and private equity investment in 2007: 41% of the EU total. This makes the UK the European leader when it comes to attracting venture capital and private equity investment in low carbon technologies, second only to the United States worldwide.

Ma (Innovation) 2T4 Ltd competed against eight businesses from across the region on 24th February 2009 in London and will now compete to be named as the overall UK winner in London on the 3rd of March.

Juice Technology Ltd, based in Hertfordshire, and Alertme.com Ltd in Cambridge also received awards of £40,000, and will go forward with Ma (Innovation) 2T4 Ltd to the UK final on the 3rd of March.

Source: Shell Springboard

Alertme.com Ltd, a Cambridge business wins climate change innovation prize

A Cambridge-based business with a big idea for tackling climate change has won a Shell Springboard award of £40,000, giving the business a valuable boost in a programme designed to promote the growth of the low carbon economy in the UK. Alertme.com Ltd received the award for its energy management system, which allows home owners to monitor how much energy they are consuming and automatically turn off devices that are not in use through their mobile phones and the web.

The AlertMe Energy system uses “smart plugs” that allow home owners to control and monitor how much power their home appliances are using. Working wirelessly with other smart devices that monitor energy use across the whole home, this information tells you how much you are spending on powering your house, and where. Using manual and automatic controls, AlertMe Energy could save the average home £30 a month on heating and electricity bills, and cut domestic energy wastage and associated carbon emissions by a quarter.

Shell Springboard gives a financial boost to innovative, commercially viable business ideas that tackle climate change. The programme encourages a positive business response to the challenge of climate change by providing a no-strings financial boost to small ideas with innovative products and services that could help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and really make a difference.

Duncan Macleod, VP Hydrogen & GTL, Shell International Ltd says: ‘Congratulations to Pilgrim Beart and Alertme.com Ltd. The AlertMe Energy system not only has genuine commercial potential but could also have a significant impact on the UK’s carbon emissions. It’s this kind of cutting-edge innovation that has made the UK a world leader in low carbon technology investment. In a difficult economic climate, it has become more important than ever that we continue to foster such independent entrepreneurialism which is so crucial to the UK economy in the long term.’

According to Shell Springboard’s Race Against the Carbon Pound report the UK’s “green” companies attracted over £1bn of venture capital and private equity investment in 2007: 41% of the EU total. This makes the UK the European leader when it comes to attracting venture capital and private equity investment in low carbon technologies, second only to the United States worldwide.

Juice Technology Ltd, based in Hertfordshire, and Ma (Innovation) 2T4 Ltd in Essex also received awards of £40,000, and will go forward with Alertme.com Ltd to the UK final.

Source: Shell Springboard