Business Weekly - Cambridge, UK

First covered by Business Weekly in July last year, the company has built on the initial investment by Low Carbon after meeting and exceeding order targets of £200k with its new generation of solar panel, the HD7.

"This support is enabling us to bring our unique Combined Heat and Power (CHP) solar system into commercial production," said Graham Ford, CEO of HD LTD. "Our product line, the HD7 series of solar concentrators provides both electric power and heat in industrial grade and quantity.”

Building on the technology used in its previous ‘Harmony’ product, the HD7 produces more power, is more reliable and has better mirror protection, capable of withstanding baseball-sized hailstones, according to the firm.

The HelioDynamics CHP solar technology is based on an innovative concentrator design, using high volume, low cost components. The company said that it plans to be able to bring solar energy to its customers at a cost lower than that of fossil fuel power.

HD LTD operates in the US through its wholly owned subsidiary, HelioDynamics, Inc. "The advances that HD is making mean that the high quality energy required for both electric power generation and other industrial processes is now economically attainable from the sun. This is in addition to the more conventional uses of solar energy for generating electricity and making hot water," said Dr. Anders Jepsen, CEO, HD Inc.

Low Carbon Accelerator now holds an aggregate equity stake of 18 per cent in HelioDynamics following the transfer to the Company of the initial equity investment for £650,000 on LCA’s admission to AIM and has the right to acquire an additional 12 per cent of HelioDynamics at a further cost of £1m.

“This investment, coupled with the strong HelioDynamics management and engineering team, will help the company achieve strong, sustainable growth world wide,” said Low Carbon Initiative CEO, Mark Shorrock.

The company plans to move its idea into developing nations which have a high number of solar hours in a day, and could benefit from the cost efficiency of the system over existing technologies.