Incubation success, innovators from the community and medtech opportunities

Catch up on stories from the entrepreneurial ecosystem at Imperial College London.

Incubator of the year 2022: White City Incubator

Imperial’s White City Incubator has won the Incubator / Accelerator / Coworking Space of the year 2022 in the West London Business Awards. So often on the podium for this category over its five years, this is the first time they've taken home the top honours. Their success this year reflects on the enthusiasm and energy of the core team and how they and the companies based in the Incubator have continued to thrive despite the challenges presented during the pandemic - all of which contributed to the Incubator being shortlisted for the coveted Company of the Year category as well.

Alongside supporting the needs of the companies, many of which have secured massive investments and grown during the year, the Incubator team have delivered programmes for developing entrepreneurial skills, as well as creating and strengthening connections with other groups and facilities in the region to help build the White City Innovation District. 

The College’s facilities at White City - spanning ideation, the Advanced Hackspace, incubation, acceleration and business growth (in partnership with Scale Space) - offer students, researchers and businesses the opportunity to work alongside at every stage of development.

2022’s Young Entrepreneurs – a strong Imperial contingent 

Entrepreneurship is a powerful currency at Imperial and has recently been recognised in a number of ways, ranging from the Forbes 30 Under 30 research published in January through to Innovate UK’s Young Entrepreneurs list.  

This year’s edition features no less than seven from the Imperial community (out of a total of 63 from across the UK), a testament to the calibre of creativity from our staff and students as well as the support, backing and encouragement from our teams across the College in Enterprise and beyond. 

Sustainable investment to back batteries  

Imperial-founded startup Nexeon announced an $80 investment to develop and manufacture silicon anode materials for Lithium-Ion batteries. Their innovative materials, first developed in the Department of Mechanical Engineering around 20 years ago, are more efficient than current components, and with the wealth of companies seeking to deploy battery technology at scale, there is huge potential for significant impact. 

One of the investors, SKC Co Ltd, are one of Korea’s leading advanced materials companies, and focus both on rechargeable battey semi-conductors as well as environmentally-friendly materials. Using silicon rather than other less-sustainable materials is another example from Imperial’s community in ways the College’s innovations are enabling the transition to zero pollution. 

MedTech innovation: Open for applications 

The MedTech SuperConnector (MTSC) opened up applications for the sixth cohort, inviting postdocs, early career researchers and PhD candidates to propose their solutions for healthier futures around the world. 

The MTSC is a partnership between eight institutions – Queen Mary University of London, Royal Veterinary College, Royal School of Music, Royal College of Art, New Buckinghamshire University, The Francis Crick Institute and The Institute of Cancer Research, and coordinated by Imperial College London – that provides support and skills to innovators whose work could be applied in a number of ways to improve health outcomes for people across the globe.  

For more information about the programme, register for either of these two sessions on 23 February or 16 March. 

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