UK's Carbon Trust expands incubator programme

Working with four incubator partners – Angle, Imperial Innovations, Isis Innovations and TTP – the Carbon Trust will provide support for companies wishing to refine their proposition before approaching investors. Each successful organisation is expected to demonstrate cost-effective, carbon-reducing business solutions that address a real business need and in return will have access to the incubator’s technical and commercial expertise.

Rachael Nutter, Business Incubator Manager at the Carbon Trust, commented:

“The Low Carbon Incubator programme is designed for any early stage low carbon business which shows true commercial and technological promise but is not quite investor-ready. Although there is growing interest in the potential returns offered by the low carbon economy, there are lots of good ideas that need hands-on business support and coaching if they are to raise funding and reach their commercial potential. The Carbon Trust and its incubator partners can help a firm across a range of issues from assessing and engaging the market, to securing IP rights, to understanding manufacturing options or to getting the right management team in place. And, because we operate a virtual network, any company across the UK can take advantage of our services.”

One firm which has taken advantage of the Incubator programme is Lontra, a start-up company that has developed a novel engine and compressor design with the potential to deliver significant energy efficiency improvements and reduced carbon emissions. The Incubator programme helped Lontra with business planning and revenue modelling, as well as a detailed market assessment, all of which was essential to get Lontra ‘investment-ready’. Imperial Innovations and NPI Ventures, a subsidiary of Japanese investment bank Nikki Cordial, have recently co-invested in Lontra, bringing the seed funding round to £400,000 and Lontra is looking to begin another round of fundraising in the summer of 2007.

Simon Hombersley, Business Development Director, Lontra, said:
“Lontra is a small company and having access to commercial expertise via the Carbon Trust’s Incubator programme was critical to get us investment-ready. It’s like having ten per cent of a really experienced business management team in the office all the time, which we found invaluable. The market assessment helped us to focus and prioritise markets a little differently, which meant we were able to present a strong business plan to potential investors. The Incubator basically took us from being a technology project and turned us into a successful business that offers exciting prospects for potential investors.”

Any start-up or spin-out company needing strategic and business advice should visit www.carbontrust.co.uk/technology/incubator to find out more about the application process.