Irresistible Materials (IM) — a ‘spin-out’ company from the University of Birmingham — has received £235,000 of funding from the Government-run Technology Strategy Board and ‘business angels’ in the USA.

This comes as Mark Shepherd takes up the post of CEO and Tim Hazell of Mercia Fund Management joins the board.

Mr Shepherd, who has expertise in commercialising technology through product development and licensing of intellectual property world-wide, has been the CEO of several technology businesses, including 1-Ltd and start-ups from the University of Manchester and Queen Mary University of London.

IM was created in 2010 to develop and commercialise the University of Birmingham’s photo-resist technology, which allows manufacturers to fabricate very small features for micro-electronic devices.

As these features get smaller, a new technology will be needed. IM’s solution is based on a fullerene material developed at the university, and the company has started talking with the key industry suppliers to evaluate samples.

Mr Shepherd said: “It is an exciting time for IM. The team has made significant advances over recent months in order to prove the capabilities of the technology and enable us to engage further with the major players in the industry.

“I am looking forward to seeing the company’s developments turn into real products that enable the next generation of semiconductor devices.”