Oxford Flow, a spin-out from the University of Oxford’s Thermofluids Institute in 2015, is proof that Oxfordshire is a good place to do innovative business. The company recently secured its largest order to date, valued at nearly $1 million, from the USA, and this comes hot on the heels of an announcement that it had raised €23.7 million in a Series C funding round co-led by BP Ventures and Energy Impact Partners (EIP). The firm focuses on revolutionising valve design to help the oil and gas industry reduce fugitive emissions including methane, and has been granted almost 60 patents for its technology. It is continuing to scale up by addressing inefficiencies in traditional systems as well as developing new infrastructure for use with hydrogen, ammonia, and captured CO₂. Oxford Flow has its headquarters in Osney Mead near central Oxford and a production site by the city’s eastern bypass. It also has offices in Houston, USA.

Helping to reduce emissions from domestic heating is a critical factor in the path to net zero, and Oxford-based Mixergy’s innovations will help deliver this as well as reducing hot water bills for homeowners by up to 60%. Its smart technology turns a home’s hot water cylinder into a connected heat battery, empowering the grid to connect more renewable energy. It has recently formed a partnership with Ambion to bring low-carbon heating to larger systems for connected smaller homes and social housing. It has backing from shareholders Oxford Science Enterprises, Kiko Ventures (IP Group), Nesta, and EDP Ventures and recently successfully closed a £12 million funding round led by Barclays Climate Ventures.

A further example is HydRegen, an Oxford University spin-out supported by Oxford University Innovation and £2.5 million of cleantech funding. Led by founder and CEO Dr Holly Reeve, HydRegen is based at Begbroke Science Park and delivers sustainable solutions to the chemicals sector. This year it is set to initiate two groundbreaking joint development projects. One will target the sustainable production of widely-used consumer products. The firm is also working with a commercial partner to scale the development and implementation of its Bio2Amine technology which aims to reduce the environmental impact of active pharmaceutical ingredient manufacturing by replacing traditional precious metal catalysts with sustainable alternatives.