Funding lights up nanotechnology

The Advanced Technology Institute (ATI) at the University of Surrey has been awarded £200,000 to produce prototype solid state lighting devices using nano-composite materials.

The Carbon Trust Applied Research Grant will contribute to a larger programme of development worth £465,000, which will use carbon nanotube-organic composites to fabricate ultra low energy lighting devices.

The ATI says its Ultra Low Energy High Brightness light (ULEHB) will require minimal power, significantly reducing both energy costs and carbon emissions. According to the Carbon Trust, lighting can contribute up to 40 per cent of a company’s energy bill, so any technology which can provide flexible, low-energy illumination should have wide commercial application, as well as contributing to carbon reduction.

Surrey's ULEHB‘s long-life modular components are designed to suit a variety of applications, including signage, displays, street lighting, commercial lighting, public buildings, offices and image projectors.

The ULEHB light could also offer a cost efficient and clean replacement solution for mercury based fluorescent lamps and many other low efficiency 'heat producing' light sources. The patented technology can also be used for low cost solar cell production and has can be tuned to produce coloured light.