The unwitting inventor of a new ‘wonder material’ which becomes thicker the more it stretches is raising funding from one of Britain’s most prominent university spinout ventures.
Sky News can reveal that Northern Gritstone, which is chaired by the former Treasury minister and Goldman Sachs economist Lord O’Neill, is making a seed investment in LC AuxeTec.
Established by Professor Helen Gleeson, former head of the physics department at the University of Leeds, LC AuxeTec claims to have developed the world’s first material that is auxetic at the molecular level – meaning it becomes thicker rather than thinner when stretched.
In nature, a material’s ability to react in this way – its auxeticity – can be found in a person’s Achilles tendon, and in cats’ skin.
The discovery has excited investors because of its potential application to materials used for shock absorption and which require qualities such as durability and robustness.
One person familiar with the company’s work described it as “a wonder material”.
LC AuxeTec was effectively created by accident, when Professor Gleeson and her colleagues were exploring the semi-soft elasticity of liquid crystal elastomers and realised the potential to develop auxetic materials using them.
Northern Gritstone is participating in LC AuxeTec’s £2m seed funding round, marking the first time it has invested in a Leeds spinout company.
The deal is expected to be announced publicly on Wednesday.
The new capital will help the business expand its team and begin testing the material’s commercial uses in areas such as polymers for wind turbines and laminated safety glass for automotive applications.
It has just appointed Robert Gunn, previously the CEO of consultancy business Enceladus Ventures, as its chief executive, and Matt Reynolds as senior engineer.
Prof Gleeson, who won…
