The most recent round of the Scottish Inward Investment Catalyst Fund (IICF) has granted three initiatives up to £10,000 each.
This fund, which is backed by Interface and the Scottish Government, draws investment through research and development in collaboration with Scottish universities.
A collaboration between Titanvolt and the University of St Andrews received funding to advance a lithium titanate oxide battery.
The pouch cell battery, which poses no fire hazard, is designed to be more energy efficient and is 95% recyclable. It has been produced by Grinergy, a prominent battery manufacturer from South Korea, and marketed by Titanvolt, based in North East England.
Although the technology has undergone thorough testing, the partnership’s goal is to evaluate and validate the battery for the UK market while supporting its development with plans to establish battery manufacturing facilities in Scotland in the future.
Another supported project is centred on technological innovations for medical devices. Australian health technology firm Oraid Solutions is collaborating with the University of Strathclyde to create a low-powered, high-frequency microphone for hearing aids aimed at enhancing sound clarity and speech comprehension in noisy settings.
This innovation effectively doubles frequency capture, reduces battery consumption, and improves noise-canceling features.
Funding was also warded to Masterisk Ltd, a software company located in England, which has created RASBOX, a risk quantification solution designed to assist financial services firms in assessing and managing their non-financial risk exposures.
This partnership with the University of Strathclyde will focus on research and development in risk modelling to enhance the product’s ability to transform risk data into actionable business insights.
The fund attracts companies from outside Scotland to collaborate with Scottish researchers, fostering opportunities and stimulating economic growth.
So far, the fund has allocated up to £10k to 34 projects in key areas for Scotland, including energy transition, health technology, and the decarbonisation of transportation.
