TIDMFIPP
Frontier IP Group plc
23 October 2023
Reach - a non-regulatory announcement
AIM: FIPP
23 October 2023
Frontier IP Group Plc
("Frontier IP" or the "Group")
Portfolio news - new portfolio company Deakin Bio-Hybrid
Materials
Frontier IP, a specialist in commercialising intellectual
property, today announces it has taken a 32.8 per cent equity stake
in Deakin Bio-Hybrid Materials Limited, ("DeakinBio" or the
"Company").
DeakinBio has developed a technology, termed BioSintering(R), to
produce advanced bio-based materials from organic waste such as
chickpea broth or algae, along with widely available inorganic
powders such as crushed limestone. The bio-based materials have
compositions similar to natural materials such as seashells and
pearl. Initial applications are as sustainable alternatives to
ceramic tiles, with the potential to reduce the carbon footprint of
tile manufacture by up to 90 per cent.
Traditional ceramic tiles have a high carbon footprint because
they need to be fired at high temperatures to harden (sinter) and
glaze the products. Making one square metre of tiles can emit up to
16 kg of carbon dioxide. DeakinBio's BioSintering and BioGlazing
processes remove the need for firing and glazing, and the ambition
is to produce tiles with similar strength and functionality to
their conventional equivalents but with a much lower carbon
footprint - currently calculated at 0.92 kg of CO(2) e emissions
per square metre according to an independent Life Cycle Assessment.
It is intended to make the tiles on industry-standard production
lines.
BioSintering(R) and BioGlazing have been used to date to make
materials based on the principles of combining biopolymers, water,
and calcium carbonate particles to produce a biocomposite material
after undergoing low-temperature processing. The inorganic material
is currently powdered limestone, although DeakinBio is exploring
the use of crushed seashells, a waste product from the seafood
industry, as a source of calcium carbonate in the future.
The Company's first material, Fabalith(R), combines calcium
carbonate with a binder made from chickpea broth, a waste product
from the food industry.
DeakinBio was founded in June 2021 by BioSintering(R) and
BioGlazing inventor Dr Aled Roberts who is based at the Manchester
Institute of Biotechnology, University of Manchester where he is a
Research Fellow. Dr Roberts holds a PhD in Materials Chemistry from
the University of Liverpool. He was lead researcher on the project
to create StarCrete(R) - a new concrete-like material made from
extra-terrestrial dust, potato starch and a pinch of salt, which
could one day be used to build infrastructure in space.
The Company is also exploring the feasibility of new materials
made from bio-manufacturing waste streams, such as microbial waste,
after winning a GBP92,364 grant from Innovate UK.
DeakinBio won the GBP50,000 first prize in the University of
Manchester's Eli Harari Graphene Enterprise Awards for 2022.
With its focus on developing new materials, partly made from
organic waste streams, DeakinBio fits into Frontier IP's Materials,
and Food and Agritech clusters. It is expected that there will be
opportunities for the Company to share expertise with other
portfolio companies, including: Alusid, which has developed
complementary technology for sustainable building materials using
recycled industrial waste, and; Nandi Proteins, which has extensive
connections in the food industry and with potential sources of
chickpea waste. Alusid's first mass-produced wall tile range,
Principle, has recently been launched by Topps Tiles, the UK's no.
1 tile specialist, through its retail outlets.
More information is available on the Company's website:
https://www.deakinbio.com/
DeakinBio Founder Dr Aled Roberts said: "We are delighted to be
partnering with Frontier IP to help us accelerate the
commercialisation of our exciting technologies. With their proven
track record of success and expertise in technology transfer, we
are confident that this collaboration will help us bring our
cutting-edge solutions to the market and create real-world
impact."
Neil Crabb, Frontier IP Chief Executive Officer, said: "We are
excited about the potential of DeakinBio and its novel
biocomposites, not just in the tile industry, but in other sectors
too. The company fits very well into our Materials, and Food and
Agritech clusters and is already sharing expertise and knowledge
with other companies in our portfolio. We are looking forward to
working with Aled and the DeakinBio team and supporting them to
future success. "
ENQUIRIES
Frontier IP Group Plc T: 020 3968 7815
Neil Crabb, Chief Executive neil@frontierip.co.uk
Andrew Johnson, Communications & Investor M: 07464 546 025
Relations
Company website: www.frontierip.co.uk
Allenby Capital Limited (Nominated Adviser) T: 0203 328 5656
Nick Athanas / George Payne
ABOUT FRONTIER IP
Frontier IP unites science and commerce by identifying strong
intellectual property and accelerating its development through a
range of commercialisation services. A critical part of the Group's
work is involving relevant industry partners at an early stage of
development to ensure technology meets real world demands and
needs.
The Group looks to build and grow a portfolio of equity stakes
and licence income by taking an active involvement in spin-out
companies, including support for fund raising and collaboration
with relevant industry partners at an early stage of
development.
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