Business Weekly - Cambridge, UK

Camcon is an Intellectual Property company, founded in 2000, that was established to commercialise its binary actuating technology, a new class of bi-stable valves and actuators.

The firm aims to make its actuator technology a worldwide standard, and received an East of England Energy Group Innovation Award in 2004 for its energy-efficient rolling swing valve.

Camcon was founded as a vehicle to support the development and commercialisation of this ground-breaking technology, currently holding five European and one US patent, with numerous additional worldwide patents pending.

Camcon is developing products based on its Binary Actuator in a broad spectrum of industrial markets, including agriculture, automotive, aviation, medical and oil & gas, where its unique characteristics are deemed to offer the largest financial and technological return.

Based in Cambridge, the company is focused on core research and development, and licenses its technology to customers, typically on an exclusive field-of-use basis.

1) How did the idea for the Camcon Binary Actuator come about?

The original idea resulted from a project to reduce jet aircraft engine noise where there was a requirement to develop a valve capable of operating at high frequencies, higher than available from conventional solutions, that was energy efficient and had a long life.

2) In what ways is it going to change the world?

In simple terms, it revolutionises solenoid and valve technology. The list of possible applications is vast (Camcon has patents, or patents pending on 65 applications), but importantly includes solutions for tackling some of today’s most pressing environmental and energy supply problems.

Shell described its specific application of Camcon technology as a “game changing” initiative that will have a profound impact on their ability to extract more oil from their existing reserves.

Well Dynamics suggests that Camcon’s technology could provide the basis for a step-change in applying advanced reservoir monitoring and control technology across a much broader range of applications than is possible today, leading to significant advances in enhanced oil recovery for maturing oil fields.

Powertrain described Camcon’s Intelligent Valve Actuator (IVA) project whereby electronic valves under the control of an engine management system could improve the efficiency of combustion engine as the most significant technology advance in the automotive sector since 1907.

3) It has been 15 years in the development so far. What are the challenges inherent in commercialising this kind of technology?

The Camcon portfolio of valve configurations has the potential to revolutionise the method of flow control and will become established as the industrial standard solution for the control and management of fluid flow. With such a disruptive technology that offers significant benefits in applications ranging from reducing aircraft noise; to reducing engine emissions; to extracting more oil from reservoirs, Camcon has focused on addressing a number of challenges, including:-

• Transforming its business from a technology based development operation into a global, market driven licencing business.

• Countering a “not invented here” attitude common in the engineering community.

• Identifying and focusing on the ‘early adopters’ of new, disruptive technology.

4) How broad is the scope for the application of the technology?

In principle, Camcon Binary Actuators could be used wherever solenoids or valves are currently applied. Camcon Binary Actuating technology is not inherently expensive to manufacture and it is possible they will eventually become an industry standard for a wide range of uses. The current objective is to identify opportunities in areas where the unique properties of the technology can deliver enormous performance benefits where engineers are pushing the boundaries of their particular technology, driven by the aim of achieving a performance that no current technology can deliver.

5) What are the company’s biggest achievements so far?

Camcon has more than 25 registered patents with a further 19 pending patent applications. This is a significant achievement for a small technology business that establishes a base for complementary business achievements. The business development and technology marketing programme has concentrated on three industry sectors where Camcon can claim considerable success.

Oil and Gas: Both Shell and Well Dynamics have endorsed our technology following extensive prototype project work and technology due diligence. Camcon and Well Dynamics have signed a three year technology development agreement under which a number of product development programmes will be delivered to oil operators, with Camcon technology based solutions being used to extract more oil from reservoirs.

Automotive: Camcon was recently awarded a grant to develop its IVA technology to produce a single cylinder prototype unit. Camcon is currently negotiating possible business contracts with major suppliers and car manufacturers, to take the IVA technology through to full production.

Aviation: Camcon continues to develop the technology, in collaboration with, for example, Rolls-Royce, to apply the technology to reducing jet engine noise.

6) What applications are closest to market and which are potentially the most valuable?

Our work with Well Dynamics in the oil sector will be the first to provide licence revenue to Camcon. This involves the well deployment of a Camcon Actuator configuration, to be used to open and close the access to the field reservoir, managing the extraction of oil or gas.

This application is also the most valuable – not just to Camcon, but to Well Dynamics and oil operators. It is known that current production processes can only extract a fraction of the hydrocarbons resident in any reservoir.

A global average extraction is believed to be just 30 per cent. Imagine a technology that could support increased extractions to 45 per cent, which would be adding more than 500 billion barrels to world reserves and representing nearly two decades more production based on current rate.

7) In the newly patented application of the Binary Actuator, Camcon is using it to control internal combustion engines. How will this change the environmental impact of the machine?

Engine designers have been investigating the potential of valve actuation mechanisms leading to the development of camless engines for many years. There have been a number of obstacles to the introduction of these mechanisms including power consumption, control of valve seating velocity and integration of the mechanism with the engine structure and systems.

Precise control over combustion has become pre-requisite in developing high efficiency, low emission engines. IVA provides a compact, low cost, low power consumption mechanism where each valve in independently controlled, providing full control over poppet valve actuation and thus providing significant opportunities for developing advanced combustion systems with improved engine performance and emissions.

8) With the potential for actuator technology to change the face of so many vital engineering systems, do you see Camcon becoming the next engineering giant?

It could be claimed that the development and emergence of Camcon’s Binary Actuation Technology can be compared to the arrival of the transistor in the electrical world, but with far greater revenue potential for the owner of the Intellectual Property.

For Camcon’s technology to become an industry standard for next generation valve and actuation systems, we need to collaborate with established ‘industry giants’ that are experts in their field and are early adopters of new, disruptive technology.

9) What are your key targets over the next year?

Priority one is to continue to focus on the collaboration with Well Dynamics and deliver identified prototypes for a variety of applications on time. Secondly, to establish a similar agreement in the automotive sector to complete the IVA development programme and third, to develop and complete business collaborations with one and more established ‘industry giants’ who are experts in their field and are early adopters of new, disruptive technology.

10) What is your business model?

Camcon develops custom prototype configurations and delivers fully operational prototypes to the client. Camcon then licences the technology to clients for subsequent manufacture, sales and distribution for specific fields of use. Camcon receives royalty income from the licence programme.