Foresight Group and Williams Advanced Engineering are to invest £1.6 million in Oxford University spin-out Mixergy Ltd, which is set to revolutionise the global hot-water tank market and reduce the cost of energy for consumers.
Mixergy (
www.mixergy.co.uk) was founded in 2014 by CEO Peter Armstrong and head of R&D Ren Kang after completing their PhD research at Oxford University, where they originally developed the idea.
The team has since grown to 17 people, and the company has built a strong relationship with British Gas, which is a major installer of hot-water tanks.
A conventional domestic hot-water tank can consume as much energy as a small car in a year. Mixergy has developed an Internet-connected tank designed to address current inefficiencies, while also providing additional services for users.
Its technology will give consumers greater control over their hot-water systems, as well as a tank that heats up five-times faster than a traditional tank.
It will also heat only the amount of water required, and will provide significant energy savings.
If rolled out across the UK, Mixergy’s technology could save almost 11GWh of energy per day, equivalent to the typical output of a 1GW power station.
The company is poised to benefit from Foresight’s experience in facilitating the growth of early-stage companies and Williams’ expertise in product development and manufacturing, in fields such as electronics and computational fluid dynamics.
The growth capital investment will be used to roll out its products in the UK and to bolster its international growth strategy, as well as expanding the team based at its Oxford head office.