Led by the investment syndicate Kelvin Capital, alongside co-investment partner Scottish Enterprise, the funding round will support the continued development of Innovatium’s Prisma air battery.
The investment will also be used to scale the firm’s already experienced team to assist in the build of productionised units for identified clients.
Prisma is a type of bolt-on compressed air system that combines energy storage and compressed air, promising users “significant energy savings and hours of back-up energy storage”.
It reduces energy costs and carbon emissions by using its storage to end reliance on inefficient partly loaded air compressors, the firm said.
Bosses believe that the system has the potential to deliver significant benefits to industrial clients across a wide range of industries including pharmaceuticals, food and drink, plastics, aggregates, glass and automotive.
The system can be deployed in any industrial setting that consumes compressed air, which in the UK accounts for 10 per cent of all industrial energy usage.
In addition, the system can be applied to the wider industrial energy storage arena by allowing energy demand to be shifted in-line with grid supply. This can facilitate greater penetration of renewables by providing a service that will reduce grid constraints and curtailments.
Innovatium chief executive Simon Branch said: “Kelvin Capital and Scottish Enterprise are the ideal investment partners for the commercialisation of our proven liquid air battery technology. The synergies brought from the Scottish manufacturing and technology space will enhance the value delivered to our clients in this exciting new phase of company growth.”
The Kelvin Capital syndicate, led by directors John McNicol and Angus Hay, represents more than 300 private investors in the UK, Europe and the United States.
McNicol said: “Clean technology has been at the forefront of the private equity sector for a number of years now, exacerbated further by 2021’s COP26 events in Glasgow. We are delighted to support companies whose innovative technology empowers a more sustainable way of working across all industries and the Innovatium team have a track record of success in designing and building new technologies in the industrial sector.”
Kerry Sharp, director of growth investments at Scottish Enterprise, said: “The technology being developed by Innovatium will play a hugely important role in Scotland’s drive towards a net zero carbon emissions economy and Scottish Enterprise is excited to be a part of the company’s journey.
“It is fantastic to see a Scottish company innovating in this field, which has really positive implications for our economy and our environment.”
Innovatium, which was formed in 2017, is based in Glasgow with a design office based in Oxfordshire.
The firm was among the 32 high-growth firms chosen to pitch at the EIE21 event – a Dragons’ Den-style conference that saw businesses seek investment from seed level to over £2m.
EIE is a year-round programme highlighted by a day of pitching to investors from across the globe.