Cashew shell oil startup part of £13m Innovate UK investment

Innovate UK is investing £13m into startups developing technologies that include a fossil-fuel chemical goods replacement made from waste cashew shells, bioplastic made from insects and nanofibre bandages.

The £13m is divided across 270 UK startups and spinouts that will each receive £50,000 and have not previously had support from Innovate UK, the national innovation agency.

Lisa Hazelden, chief product officer at Innovate UK, said: “Congratulations to each of these 270 pioneering small businesses receiving their first Innovate UK grant.”

“These awards will provide crucial cash flow to help accelerate the innovation that will drive our future economy and society.”

Some of the winners of the £50,000 investment are:

• CSBR Ltd: A startup looking to switch out chemical goods using fossil fuels with oil made out of waste cashew shells from the University of St Andrews, Scotland.
• NovNat Tech: University of Birmingham startup working on a material that can draw water from the air.
• Corryn Biotechnologies: Developing a bandage constructed out of nanofibres, spun out of Swansea University.
• Ramanomics Ltd: University of Oxford spinout has come up with a way to diagnose the cause of pneumonia. Ramanomics say its method takes less than half an hour.
• Entoplast: A replacement for plastic or bioplastic produced from the insects in organic waste in Hertfordshire.

Meat-free steak developer Adamo raised £1.5m last month, which consisted of two grants from Innovate UK.

AI, the tech industry’s buzzword, is a key focus area for Innovate UK, which launched a £100m AI fund in April.