VPS work with vehicle manufacturers to provide labour such as fitting air conditioning, leather seats, etc. to their cars as they arrive at port from overseas. VPS's main focus is the manufacturing of Number Plates within the Approved British Standard and selling these directly to the car manufacturers.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£851,620
Gravitricity is an energy technology company. The company uses winches to raise a heavyweight to the top of a vertical shaft to store electricity in the form of potential energy when there is excess energy on the grid. It then lowers it when required with the winch motors running as generators to transfer energy back to users on the grid. Gravitricity argues that the system can be charged and discharged multiple times a day for over 25 years. The company has built a 250kW concept demo in Edinburgh. It aims to become a contender in the energy storage market that is set to be worth $620 billion by 2040. The company has received interest from operating mines, grid companies, EV charging stations and solar developers for its technology. It is also investigating project sites in UK, Europe, the USA and South Africa. It will use the investment to complete the concept and detailed design for its prototype, develop its commercial projects portfolio, and protect its Intellectual Property (IP).
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£2,124,008
Greenwall Environmental Group is a company engaged in making devices that can minimise non-biodegradable waste. It argues that asbestos remains the largest occupational killer in the UK today. Its product, Asbestosprobe, aims to change this situation. The company asserts that Asbestoprobe is arguably the world's first handheld analyser specifically designed to detect asbestos in real-time. It argues that current methods of detecting and recording the presence of asbestos are costly, invasive and slow. Asbestoprobe uses a point-and-click approach utilising NIR Spectroscopy and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to analyse the presence of asbestos in two minutes via the Asbestoprobe App. Greenwall plans to provide an annual software licensing model which grows through recurring revenue year on year. It endeavours to be a segment leader in the projected $1 billion global asbestos management market. The company will use the investment to grow its business across different verticals.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£253,017
Crover intends to leverage the world's first proprietary method for locomotion in bulk solids. It argues that globally, 20% (60% in developing areas) of harvested grains are wasted during storage that led to almost 631 million tonnes of grains being wasted in 2018. Crover claims CROVER, its robotic grain monitoring device, can fluently “swim” in stored grains, monitor their conditions, reduce losses due to spoilage and avoid a drop in quality of these valuable crops. The company argues CROVER can provide hi-resolution readings across the storage unit and help hinder pest growth, allowing for early detection of potential spoilage. Crover was awarded £614,000 in grant funding including, £212,000 from Innovate UK. It has featured in publications such as The Times, Farmers Weekly, and Milling & Grain. They intend to use the investment to begin arranging and readying parties regarding new pilot programmes and begin small series manufacturing for these pilot schemes.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£337,762
Nova is a world-leading and award-winning tidal energy company. It designs, builds, and operates tidal turbines that generate electricity from the flow of the tide and the natural ebb. Nova's underwater turbines work in harmony with marine environment and have zero visual impact. In 2018, Nova received international recognition at the G7 summit and won ‘Outstanding Project’ at the Green Energy Awards the same year. Nova aims to become cost-competitive with traditional baseload fossil fuels. With the proceeds, the company will fulfil its purpose of Business Growth (25%), Project Delivery (50%), and Commercial Readiness (25%).
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£1,255,666
Carverter is a technology platform that enables customers to find and lease a hybrid or Electric Vehicle (EV). The company cites data pointing out the UK government's ban on the sale of petrol and diesel only cars after 2030. It also argues about changing car preferences, with 78% of consumers considering leasing to access an EV. Carverter aims to capture this audience and grow its business. The company uses its algorithm to bring together over 32 million data points across its three tools, namely Carvert, Carwizard, and Browse, to help users find their choice of hybrid/EV. Carverter has partnered with renowned entities like WPP, Arval, Microsoft & ITV to boost its business. It will use 10% of the investment on hiring staff, 20% towards rolling out its services across 22 European countries via Arval, and 70% on an advertising multiplier deal with the UK's largest commercial broadcaster, ITV, and WPP.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£2,324,693
WhyBuy is a rental platform that allows a user to rent out items or entities he/she may want to another person. WhyBuy asserts that consumers want to be able to access items for brief periods, and the company aims to be the go-to provider in this segment. It endeavours to save time, space, money and the environment through its business model that is backed by a 100% electric delivery fleet. The company has tested its supply chain to ensure orders are placed despite COVID-19 restrictions. Its app has seen 8000+ downloads from mid-June to end-July 2020 at just over £3 per acquired download across the App Store and Google Playstore. It will use 75% of the investment for marketing, 5% to expand its electric fleet, and 15% as stock and overhead expenses.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£309,260
Cornish Lithium (CL) is a mineral exploration company engaged in the discovery of lithium and other battery metals in Cornwall. It intends to create a 'Battery Metals Hub' in the UK through its efforts. CL has received funding to build the first European Union (EU) pilot lithium extraction plant powered by geothermal waters. It asserts that some of the world's highest grades of lithium are found in geothermal waters. The company has also secured UK Government funding for a new lithium extraction pilot plant in Cornwall. CL has drilled 41 shallow boreholes in a former china clay pit near St Austell, demonstrating the potential to extract lithium from granite. The company will use the investment to accelerate the company towards commercial production of lithium.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£5,199,999
MacRebur uses waste plastics destined for landfill or incineration and adding them into asphalt for road construction and surfacing to extend and enhance the bitumen (fossil fuel) binder. It argues that its carefully selected plastics, taken from the waste stream, are added into roads to improve strength and durability, whilst reducing the quantity of the oil-based bitumen used in a traditional road construction mix. MacRebur asserts that with each km of road laid using its MR products, the company sustainably uses up the equivalent weight of 740,541 one-time-use plastic bags. MacRebur has completed road tests in numerous countries including the UK and Europe, Turkey, Australia, and Japan to name a few. It has also signed agreements with India, the USA, Chile, Estonia, Kuwait, New Zealand, Switzerland, Bahrain, Spain, and Malaysia. The company will use the investment to build its manufacturing plants in five strategic locations across the world.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£3,055,740
Carnot is an engineering company that is developing biofuel and hydrogen-powered Carnot engines with the aim of reducing global CO2 levels by 13%. The company asserts that metal engines, unable to withstand fuel combustion temperatures, waste one-third of fuel energy to cooling & have operating efficiencies of only 30%. Carnot argues that its engines can bring operating efficiencies up to 70%, halving fuel costs. It also intends to develop clean, secure, and affordable global off-grid energy solutions and provide disruptive technologies that are both commercially viable and environmentally friendly. Carnot was awarded a £157,000 Innovate UK Grant to develop an energy access solution in Sub-Saharan Africa. It was also awarded a place on OGTC Tech X accelerator, in partnership with organisations like British Petrol (BP), Equinor, and KPMG with a £100,000 funding. The company will use the investment to bump up the maximum theoretical engine efficiency to ~85%.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£307,911
