UK Technology Strategy Board awards £1.2m to FRETSGATE instrumentation project

8 February 2010

The UK Technology Strategy Board, in conjunction with the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC), and the Northern Way partnership have given £1.2m to a consortium led by Oxsensis, the Oxford based technology developer, for the development of Fast REsponse Temperature Sensors for GAs Turbine Efficiency (FRETSGATE) instrumentation project. Oxsensis is joined by partners Rolls-Royce and Siemens Industrial Turbomachinery.

‘The UK is developing a lead in sensors for advanced combustion control to enable higher efficiencies in gas turbines for power plants and aero engines. We are very happy that our project with Rolls-Royce and Siemens Industrial Turbomachinery has been selected by the Technology Strategy Board,’ said David Gahan, CEO of Oxsensis.

The FRETSGATE project is centred around the development of a new optical temperature sensor which when used in advanced power stations can withstand extreme temperatures, which it is claimed will contribute to saving more than one million tonnes of CO2 a year. The technology, which aims to control engine combustion using hydrogen, will be developed from a proof of concept to a working applicable model and has further uses in aircraft engines.

In addition to this award, Oxsensis was also granted an award for a feasibility study on vibration sensors for gas turbine systems. Oxsensis was a company developed from research at the STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in 2003. In July 2007 the company managed to raise £4.3m in a second round of funding and bringing on board investors, Albion Ventures, Seven Spires, Frog Investments, the Rainbow Seed Fund, and Strathdon.

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Tags: energy efficiency

This story was published on Monday, February 8th, 2010 at 5:31 pm and is filed under Europe, deals, energy efficiency. You can follow any responses to article entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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