Ilika and Diverso agree partnership to develop new clean-tech opportunities in China
Ilika (LON:IKA) has hired a China-based clean-tech investment company
Diverso to develop new business opportunities in the People's Republic
of China. As Ilika’s business development representative, Diverso will
be focused on the energy sector - with particular emphasis on batteries,
photovoltaics (solar power generation materials), hydrogen storage
materials and fuel cells.
Diverso is mandated to arrange and
secure collaborative research projects or licensing agreements between
Ilika and third party commercialisation partners in China. Under the
terms of the partnership, Ilika will reimburse Diverso, based on the
revenues it receives from third-party commercialisation partners.
"Diverso's
proven expertise in introducing innovative technology to Chinese
manufacturing partners is a great attraction to us ... we hope [the
partnership] will unlock a major market for us. As an indirect
shareholder in Ilika, Diverso's interests are directly aligned with our
own as we seek to develop new opportunities in this important market",
Ilika chief executive Graeme Purdy commented.
“Given its large and growing energy needs, China offers fantastic
opportunities for the company's energy sector capabilities.”
Ilika,
a Southampton University spin-out and materials developer, joined the
AIM market last month, issuing 10.147 million placing shares at 51 pence
each, raising £5.2 million before expenses, and has a market
capitalisation of approximately £18.7 million.
Through the IPO,
Diverso’s Mackin Holdings subsidiary became a substantial shareholder in
Ilika, and the company’s admission document outlined the basis of the
Diverso partnership. Diverso wil act on Ilika’s behalf for an initial
period of three years, and no upfront or retainer fee is payable.
"We
believe Ilika's ability to rapidly develop novel materials suitable for
the clean-tech sector is of tremendous value to companies based in
China”, Stephen Edkins, Partner at Diverso, commented.
“Ilika's
proprietary R&D technology makes it extremely attractive as a source
of expertise to highly efficient, fast-growing Chinese manufacturers.
Growth in China's R&D spending has averaged over 20% annually, and
with strong government backing we expect this trend to continue".
Ilika
regards itself as an advanced clean-tech materials company, which
accelerates the discovery of new and patentable materials using its
unique high throughput technologies (HTT) process for identified end
uses in the energy, electronics and biomedical sectors. This process
enables hundreds of scalable materials to be made in a single, automated
operation and subsequently tested for key properties.
Traditionally,
materials development has been a slow and arduous task, with manual,
sequential methods used to make samples of material that are then tested
for suitability. On average, it takes between 7 and 10 years to move
from an initial discovery through to the first commercial prototype.
Experiments carried out by the company can be executed 10 to 100 times
faster than using traditional techniques, Ilika said in its admission
document.
The group's commercialisation strategy is to enter into
joint development or licensing agreements with large multinational
companies which are seeking to commercialise products developed using
the intellectual property created through jointly-funded programmes.
Ilika
generates revenues from three sources: licensing and milestone payments
from joint development programmes; fee for service from contract
research projects; and from sales of Cryoskin, an active treatment for
burns and hard to heal wounds, and Myskin, an active treatment for
difficult to heal wounds, using cultured cells from a patient’s own
skin.
The company focuses on three principal sectors and has a number of active development programmes addressing markets within each sector:
Energy: developing new materials for Lithium-ion batteries for vehicles for Toyota; developing high capacity hydrogen storage materials with Shell Hydrogen and Johnson Matthey through joint development programmes; developing cheaper alternatives to Platinum electrodes for use in fuel cells through a grant-funded project with the Carbon Trust; developing new materials for use in fuel cells for the transport sector for a major vehicle manufacturer; and carrying out in-house research on film photovoltaic solar cells.
Electronics: developing lead-free piezoelectric materials through a joint development programme with CeramTec; and developing phase change memory materials for high capacity memory chips and is currently in negotiations with a major electronics manufacturer.
Biomedical: developing polymers to enable the filtering of somatic stem cells from blood with a major global supplier of filters; it has been selling its Cryoskin and Myskin products for the treatment of burns and wounds in the UK through a specialist distributor and intends to commence clinical trials of its corneal bandage candidate.
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