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Martin Energy Limited was established in 2004 to develop novel ways to reduce energy costs and improve the environmental performance of the electricity industry. The company has recently re-branded and is now known as Flexitricty.

The Business Challenge

Flexitricty is, in effect, a “virtual” power station – a low carbon resource of reserve electricity which supports the National Grid by running generators and reducing consumption when the national electricity system is under stress. Due to the nature of the business, it operates on a 24/7 basis.

Partners

The company prides itself on being a ‘knowledge business’ and places great importance on its highly qualified and experienced staff, so working with university academics is central to the company’s growth strategy as Flexitricity’s managing director, Alastair Martin, explains.

“We had researched all the various government-backed schemes, grant aided assistance and other options to engage the services of a university partner to help our research and develop plans, but the complexities of unravelling the most appropriate scheme and the most suitable university to work with was time consuming. However, when we met with the Interface team through a contact at Scottish Enterprise, we knew from the initial conversations that they could distil this to meet our requirements.”

The Solution

Interface – The knowledge connection for business helped broker collaborative links with two academics from the University of Edinburgh’s School of Engineering and Electronics, Dr Dimitri Mignard and Professor Dr Gareth Harrison.

The collaboration is working well. Flexitricity was successfully awarded a two year Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) to explore ‘the supply and demand balancing in the National Electricity System and has now employed a KTP Associate to fulfill the terms of the KTP agreement.

Alastair adds; “I worked for large power generation operators for a number of years and more specifically high energy fossil fuel generators. I soon realised that it was possible you can have efficiency within an electricity generation plant, but that is often at the expense of flexibility. It would appear you cannot have both. However on the energy consumption side, there is a lot of flexibility with no efficiency penalties, so Flexitricty was borne out of the potential to harness this.

I realised that what was needed was as an efficient way of managing the process as a real time operational system and that’s precisely what we have done with Flexitricity”.

Dr Gareth Harrison comments;

“We are now working our way through the KTP in collaboration with Flexitricity and I’m delighted to say the synergy within this partnership between Flexitricity and ourselves is very complimentary. The academic capability within the university’s energy and engineering departments are looking at ways of developing new systems with Flexitricity which will help enhance the efficiency of matching electrical consumption to the supply/demand balance.”

Follow-On Activity

Flexitricity are currently (March 2019) involved in the Smart Hubs demonstrator project which will also use vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology to enable cars to deliver electricity back to the smart grid.  The project, which will look at integrating “various battery storage options”, would allow large numbers of electric vehicles to be charged without placing further pressure on an already-constrained grid. 

With a reputation spanning over 100 years, East Kilbride based Mentholatum are a recognised leader in the sale of Topical Pain Relief products.

The Business Challenge

Looking to diversify into the skincare market the company had developed a new range of skincare cosmetic products based on novel ingredients for the treatment of acne. Requiring academic analysis to be carried out on their range before they could be taken to market, the company was referred to Interface by Scottish Enterprise. They needed to gauge performance and efficacy in the key areas of:

The Solution

Following a full search of the academic base in Scotland, Interface introduced the company to Dr Richard Weller at the University of Edinburgh, who had relevant industry experience.
Leading the eight week clinical protocol study on the OXY range, Dr Weller conducted a full analysis report and published a white paper on the results, both of which have proven invaluable to Metholatum.

As Colin Brown, Director of Research and Quality Development at the company explains:

The introduction from Interface to the University of Edinburgh has been invaluable for the launch of our Oxy range for the spot prone skin market. The increased credibility we have received from working with the University and with Dr Weller has also improved our opportunities to gain increased  market share in the healthcare/personal care market.

The collaboration was also beneficial to the University in terms of highlighting the scope of their research to the wider business world, as Dr Weller comments:

The Mentholatum consultancy work has been very successful. We conducted a full clinical trial of its anti-spot products. To date, this work has gained considerable interest in two major British dermatology journals, and I suspect it will gain additional favourable media attention.

Creating Sustained Relationships

So successful has this collaboration been that Mentholatum see the partnership of University and business as filled with potential for future projects. Colin explains further:

This initial introduction has opened many doors within the University and also the wider Scottish academic network. We envisage this partnership with the University of Edinburgh as being long term and see many mutual benefits from working together.

2016

Since this initial project for their OXY skincare range, the company have funded a three year SUPA (Scottish Universities Physics Alliance) PhD studentship which investigated the application of Magnetic Resonance Elastography.

They have also sponsored a second PhD studentship through SINAPSE, a consortium of six of Scotland’s top universities’ medical imaging groups, including the University of Stirling and the University of Dundee.
This Scottish imaging network is at the forefront of research in the field of brain imaging.

Looking to the future,  Mentholatum is now collaborating with the Department of Physics at the University of Edinburgh on a project which will support the measurement of the rheological properties of its products.

Canon Medical Research Europe Ltd (previously Toshiba Medical Visualization Systems Europe Ltd) in Edinburgh is a key part of Canon Medical Systems Corporation’s global R&D network and is responsible for the design and development of cutting edge products and technology for use in medical imaging equipment.

The Business Challenge
 

Keen to tap into the expertise available within academia, Canon Medical Research Europe Ltd became aware of Interface at an event and arranged further meetings to discuss the company’s research and development requirements.

A specification was agreed and Interface undertook an expertise search for potential academic collaborators.

Ian Poole, Senior Scientist commented, “Interface offers companies access to a diverse network of world class expertise and plays a vital role in facilitating the partnerships.”

Interface identified the knowledge and facilities required within the SINAPSE POOL.
SINAPSE, the Scottish imaging network, is at the forefront of research in the field of brain imaging and brings together six of Scotland’s top universities – Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, St Andrews and Stirling.

Canon Medical Research Europe Ltd recognised the opportunity to capitalise on the extensive expertise within SINAPSE and was keen work with the group.

The Solution

Interface worked with SINAPSE and Canon Medical Research Europe Ltd to develop a successful Staff Exchange Programme with the University of Edinburgh and the University of Aberdeen.

Both parties have experienced significant benefits from this collaboration. The programme is a true example of successful knowledge exchange between academia which involves Canon Medical Research Europe Ltd employees spending time in a clinical environment and SINAPSE researchers and students spending time at the company premises embedded in an industrial environment.

Canon Medical Research Europe Ltd were able to explore with researchers the different technologies, techniques and approaches which can be used to develop images that may result in new or improved clinical diagnosis. The programme also provides university researchers with the opportunity to see how their research can be transformed into marketable products within an industry environment, building awareness of the tough requirements involved with commercial software. In addition the programme acts as a catalyst for innovation within Canon Medical Research Europe Ltd in providing an environment which is conducive to exploring new ideas.

Two Engineering Students at the University of Edinburgh also undertook placement at Canon Medical Research Europe Ltd.

The Future

The initial partnership between SINAPSE and Canon Medical Research Europe Ltd continues to flourish and has led to discussions regarding a larger collaboration which will build on the current project. The company has also announced its decision to launch a major new R&D programme in healthcare imaging informatics at its Edinburgh facility.

Ken Sutherland, Director of R&D at Canon Medical Research Europe Ltd’s Edinburgh facility commented, “Its great that we can tap into some of the first class academic research going on here in Scotland and at the same time play a useful role by sifting and highlighting those aspects of research that look most promising in terms of commercially viable innovation”.

Dr. Siobhán Jordan, Director at Interface commented, “The Staff Exchange Programme further demonstrates the importance and potential benefits of business and academia working in partnership. I am sure the recent news announced by Canon Medical Research Europe Ltd will present future potential collaborative opportunities between the two networks.”