Emerging Technologies Competition: nanoHEX

Since winning the competition

Dr Alexander Reip, Chief Executive Officer, said: “Manufacturers are really looking for the kind of environmental benefits we’re offering. We’re all aware of how much scrutiny there is over our impact on the planet, so our solution has come at the perfect time.”

The company’s nano-scale coating, nanoFLUX®, provides far more nucleation sites than are found on the surface of conventional materials, in turn creating a far higher volume of the bubbles that are at the heart of heat exchange processes.

For example, Oxford nanoSystems is optimising an evaporator which is up to 70% smaller than a traditional unit. It requires 70% less energy and uses 70% less refrigerant (1kg of the common refrigerant R-23 does as much damage as 14.8 tonnes of carbon dioxide).

Now that the technology is proved following six years of lab-based work, the focus is on seeing nanoFLUX® used in products for real. Ultimately, Dr Reip wants it to be seen as the new industry standard for such heat transfer applications.

What’s next for nanoHEX

Dr Reip has been a member of Royal Society of Chemistry since graduating and actively involved in various industry initiatives, especially through support schemes for start-ups. He heard about the competition directly from RSC and encourages other innovators to consider entering.

He added: “The application process was very simple and easy, yet we’ve had so much benefit from our win already. Almost immediately we were contacted by a few manufacturers who’d read about us in the media coverage about the awards. We’ve been doing testing and other small projects with them as part of getting nanoFLUX® ready for market. We also had academic partners coming forward offering to explore other applications of the technology that we don’t have the time or facilities to do ourselves.”