IME engineers funding for spinouts

The Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IME) has launched a $2m fund – the Stephenson Fund – to help companies across commercialisation’s valley of death and has already made five investments.

Of the five, two –and air compressor manufacturer Lontra fuel cell developer Amalyst – are spinouts of Imperial College London and University College London, respectively. The remaining three – fusion reactor firm Tokamak Energy, Oxford Space Systems, and instrument developer Oxsensis – are all spinouts of independent laboratories, the latter two of which are based in the Oxford tech cluster.

IME did not disclose individual investment amounts for each firm.

Stephen Tetlow MBE, Chief Executive of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, said: “These investments by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers are not just about providing monetary investment, but about connecting these and other companies to the vast resources and network of the Institution and its membership. The fund fulfils the Institution’s original purpose to give an impulse to invention and also help companies overcome the investment hurdle between Research and Development and bringing a product to market. I am really excited that through the Fund the Institution is able to support Lontra, Amalyst, Oxsensis, Tokamak Energy and Oxford Space Systems in developing exciting and innovative technologies which really are inventions likely to be useful to the world. This is the Institution getting back to its roots.”