News: Winners of Prestigious European Chemistry Prize
We’re proud to announce that Hexigone is one of eight winners at the Royal Society of Chemistry ‘Emerging Technology’ Awards – sharing a prize of £80,000 and placing the winners into one of the most lucrative spotlights in chemistry.
Competing against innovators from across Europe, Hexigone’s chromate-free, ‘chemically intelligent’ corrosion inhibitor was entered into the ‘emerging and enabling’ category to showcase that the technology can deliver a real-world benefit to society. The finalists then pitched their ideas to judges at the RSC’s Chemistry Means Business event in the QEII Conference Centre on Monday 28th October.
Andrew Muir, Investment Director at UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund, commented on behalf of the competition judges:
“Hexigone is addressing a significant and pressing challenge in protecting structures globally as regulatory and environmental pressures mount. The judges were impressed by their progress in demonstrating their approach works and by the partnerships they have started to form given this is not an easy market for small companies to address”
Dr Patrick Dodds, CEO and Founder also commented:
“We’re thrilled to be recognised in such a prestigious award - we were against some incredible companies with amazing, forward-thinking technology. Our success is testament to our growing teams’ continued efforts - working closely with over 50 global partners to bring the product to market, and create safer, more sustainable communities.”
As well as winning £10,000 as one of four category winners, Hexigone will also receive support from some of the world’s biggest companies, including Unilever, Pfizer, Johnson Matthey, RSSL and Croda.
Other winners include Thermulon Ltd, who designed the first building insulation that's energy-efficient, fire-proof and sustainable, and Mimica, who developed a ‘next-generation’ food expiry label that reduces food waste. Although vastly different business ideas; along with Hexigone; the winners all bring cutting-edge science from the labs in to the ‘real world’ to solve an everyday issue.
For those who have won the competition in previous years, there has been no looking back - they have gone on to raise a combined total of over £32m in equity investment and grant funding, with one company subsequently being sold for £28m. Winners have also expanded overseas, entered commercial contracts, conducted clinical and industrial scale trials, and collectively doubled their staff.
Aurora Antemir, Head of Industry at the Royal Society of Chemistry said:
“Chemistry Means Business pairs the next generation of chemistry innovators with the blue-chip companies that can take their ideas forward. Both the winners and finalists this year have undoubtedly been amongst the most innovative we’ve seen yet. We’re looking forward to seeing how these incredible new ideas and innovations will deliver really exciting real-world benefits.”