Radiation tech specialist Kromek said it expects to see half year revenues rise 45% after sealing a $1.3m deal for its wearable ‘dirty bomb’ detectors.
The Sedgefield-based business is behind the D3M personal radiation detector that helps guard against the threat of nuclear terrorism and the illicit movement of nuclear materials. The hands-free wearable device continuously scans for radiation and has a six-times lower false alarm rate than the standard of the American National Standards Institute.
Since being developed by the NETPark business Kromek has secured a number of orders, and this latest deal is a repeat order with a US customer, with Kromek having now delivered D3M orders worth $2.6m to the same customer in the last six months.
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Dr Arnab Basu, chief executive officer of Kromek, said: “We are pleased to win this contract for our D3M radiation detectors. This repeat order affirms the strength of our nuclear radiation detection technology and highlights the growing market demand for these products.
“It is also reflective of the strong trading that we experienced in the first half of our FY 2023 year, and we expect to report revenue growth of approximately 45% for the six months to 31 October 2022. This, combined with the momentum that we are seeing, particularly in the CBRN segment, underpins the Board’s confidence in our prospects for the future.”
Emmex Freight Services - launched almost a century ago with just four cattle trucks - has been acquired.
The Morpeth business is run by husband-and-wife team Raymond and Sandra Hare, 96 years after Mr Hare’s grandfather James first started a business in the industry in Felton in 1928.
Having built up the business to a £2.5m turnover enterprise, he has now decided to retire to spend more time with his wife. Nearby contract services and skip hire company R Thornton & Co, from Linton, saw the opportunity to increase their business provision and have now bought the company, adding the Emmex Freight Services brand to their portfolio.
Mr Hickey said: “We recognise the value in adding Emmex to our family. We are now able to provide a one stop shop including the clearance of sites and groundwork projects moving on to the transportation of goods across the country and beyond. It’s a good fit for our business model and can only help us grow even more.”
North East tech firm Sugarcoat is set to create new jobs as it ramps up expansion with the help of a five-figure investment.
Newcastle-based Sugarcoat provides cloud-hosted e-commerce solutions to digital agencies and SMEs across the UK and Ireland, which enable them to sell their products and services to customers around the world. The firm is using the £50,000 North East Small Loan Fund investment, which was obtained through regional fund management firm NEL Fund Managers, to support a number of enhancements to its digital infrastructure and increase its sales and marketing activities.
Up to 10 new jobs are expected to be created in the coming years as the business expands, while a new director has recently joined the firm to action its growth strategy. Sugarcoat also provides services relating to content management, hosting, and payment solutions, and has previously secured a £25,000 investment from Creative UK.
A consortium of companies led by Siemens Energy in Newcastle started work on a £3.5m prototype designed to produce green hydrogen at an industrial scale. The ammonia cracker prototype will use ammonia to deliver 200kg of hydrogen a day, which is enough to power up to 10 hydrogen fuel cell-electric buses – a move which could help tackle climate change while reducing carbon emissions.
The partnership marks a collaboration between Siemens Energy, Siemens Energy Ventures, FFI, GeoPura, and Innovate UK, with Siemens Energy and FFI providing engineering expertise and innovative technical solutions. GeoPura will provide onsite management and will be taking the hydrogen product from the prototype ammonia cracker system for use in its innovative fuel cell power generation technology.
Monument Real Estate, based in Newcastle, led the acquisition of Gosforth Shopping Centre in a £9.3m off market transaction, which had the backing of a consortium of local private investors. The deal came about following a direct approach by Monument to Custodian REIT which took over ownership of the centre last year, when it acquired the whole of Drum REIT.
It was previously part of an investment portfolio belonging to Sage Plc co-founder Graham Wylie, who sold it in 2014. The shopping centre, which extends to 74,000 sq ft with a car park on the second floor, is based on Gosforth High Street and all of the scheme’s 18 retail units are currently occupied, with supermarket Sainsbury’s taking up 33,000 sq ft. Other tenants include Card Factory, Costa, Savers, The Naked Deli, Boots and WHSmith.
Tom Wooldridge, executive director and founder of Monument Real Estate, said: “As the focal point of Gosforth High Street, within one of the most sought-after residential locations in the region, we saw an opportunity to secure the centre and improve its overall appeal given the very strong credentials.
“Being local asset managers, supported by local co-investors, we are well placed to capitalise on the strength of the demographics. We want to develop the brand and appeal of Gosforth Shopping Centre by bringing forward several new initiatives and working with the community to give the centre its own personality and establish points of difference with comparable centres.”
Nova Pangaea Technologies says a new agreement with British Airways and sustainable fuels firm LanzaJet will bring further investment and a boost to an aviation fuel project.
The clean tech company, which converts discarded biomass material into other products using its REFNOVA process, will receive funding from British Airways owner IAG to support development work. Redcar-based Nova Pangaea is looking to decarbonise the aviation industry.
As part of the Project Speedbird consortium, the firm is aiming to create the UK’s first sustainable aviation fuels facility that uses agricultural and wood waste taken from sustainable sources. Last year the project secured £500,000 from the Department for Transport's Green Fuels, Green Skies competition and now it is seeking additional money from the Advanced Fuels Fund grant.
Sarah Ellerby, CEO at Nova Pangaea Technologies, said: "This project will deliver the first end-to-end, sustainable value chain from agricultural and wood waste to SAF in the UK. It will undoubtedly play a very important role in the growing momentum towards decarbonising our aviation sector.
"The support from British Airways is a vote of huge confidence in our technology and will accelerate its commercialisation. In July, the UK Government announced its Jet Zero strategy signalling a SAF mandate of 10% of all UK flights to run on SAF by 2030. This agreement is another significant step towards meeting this mandate in the UK. Our aim is to help the UK become a global leader in the end-to-end SAF market, with consequent benefits to employment and business activity.”
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