Celebrations at last for vehicle engine innovator crowned 2014 Shell Springboard winner
Green SME news – by Louise Bateman
7th May 2014
A Lancaster-based entrepreneur has proved that grit and determination go a long way in the search for the UK’s most innovative low carbon idea, walking away with the coveted national Shell Springboard Award after being told by the judges first time round that his high-efficiency vehicle engine didn’t make the grade.
Paul Andrews, founder of Oaktec, was last night celebrating winning £40,000 for his ground-breaking ‘PULSAR’ engine design, but it was a different story last year, when his potentially revolutionary small gas engine prototype did not make it past the regional finals because the judges felt it would not achieve the high-efficiency levels claimed.
“Determined”
“Being a determined individual I went back and got a dream team of experts and between us within six months we built a new prototype engine, we tested it, we benchmarked it against the market leading engine, we delivered over 15 per cent more power at the same engine speed, competitive fuel efficiency and amazingly low emissions,” the engineer and rally car driver told those attending yesterday’s ceremony in London.
How it works
Oaktec’s PULSAR prototype is a novel four stroke piston engine that can burn both conventional fuel and biofuels and, according to Oaktec, can match or better the best current internal combustion engines on fuel efficiency.
Described by Andrews as “the world’s first dedicated small gas engine”, it is cheap to manufacturer and can be used in any number of applications, including mowers, tuk tuks, and small aircraft, but its primary applications are in electrical energy, such as range extenders for electric vehicles.
“There are potential applications for our highly efficient, low emissions technology in every country, every city and every community around the globe,” Andrews, who produced the first prototype of the engine concept back in 1999, said.
Oaktec beat off competition from over 100 other companies to reach the national finals of Shell Springboard, the low carbon innovation programme run by energy giant Shell to help small businesses scale up their low carbon products and services.
Andrews said he planned to put the prize money towards securing more funding and industrial partnerships. Last year’s Shell Springboard winner, Vantage Power, managed to raise almost £1 million to further develop its diesel-electric hybrid engine for buses, following its win.
Runner-up
Narrowly missing out on the top prize was runner-up Demand Logic, which uses big data analytics to discover energy saving opportunities in large commercial properties.
This year’s other national finalists were energy storage company Storelectric; Bio-bean, which is taking waste coffee grounds and turning them into biofuels; MeshPower, which is building scalable and automated electricity grids for rural communities; and Sentec, a supplier of smart grid and metering technology.
“The innovations of low carbon SMEs (small to medium-sized enterprises) like Oaktec and all our other Shell Springboard finalists are delivering dramatic growth for the UK economy, as well as being key to meeting the rising demand for energy while reducing carbon emissions. It’s great to be able to support these small enterprises and their entrepreneurial approach to producing truly ground-breaking technology through initiatives like Shell Springboard.”
Over the past nine years, Shell Springboard has awarded approximately £3 million of funding to 80 low carbon SMEs.
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