A spin-out from the University of Durham, Durham Mag-Lev, won £60,000 in financial backing from North Star Equity Investors’ North East Proof of Concept (POC) fund to develop a full-size prototype, which could revolutionise the world of Formula One.
According to the investor’s webiste, Durham Mag-Lev has developed technology which can magnetically levitate vehicles when being tested aerodynamically in wind tunnels. The system eliminates the problem caused by the interference of struts usually used to hold vehicles in place. It is based on high-temperature superconductors which eradicate interference in air-flow, resulting in more accurate data.
The company, which is based at the NETPark Incubator in Sedgefield, County Durham, was created by Dr Robert Muscroft following his PhD research at the University of Durham’s School of Engineering. The project team includes academics from the universities of Durham and Cambridge and industrialists from subcontracting partners Aircraft & Commercial Tools Limited and Durham Precision Engineering Ltd.
In order to develop the prototype over the next year, Durham Mag-Lev plans to match the POC funding with a £75,000 grant received through the Grant for Research and Development (GRD) scheme.
FinSMEs
07/08/2009