Imperial Innovations Group Regulatory News (IVO)

Imperial Innovations Group plc

Battery milestone for portfolio company Nexeon

3 March 2010, London - Imperial Innovations Group plc (AIM: IVO, 'Innovations'), a leading technology commercialisation and investment company, announces that its portfolio company Nexeon has achieved an important milestone in its development of silicon-based anodes for next-generation lithium ion (Li-ion) batteries.

Cells containing its silicon anode material have successfully completed 500 full charge / discharge cycles without significant fade being observed. The 500 cycles performance level is regarded by the battery industry as an important performance measure and is considerably higher than the 300 or so full cycles typically considered necessary for consumer applications such as mobile phones and laptop computers.

Proving the durability and robustness of silicon anodes is an important first step in making this technology available to battery manufacturers. A future step involves reproducing the results in different cell types, and then optimising the battery configuration to take full advantage of the higher performance silicon anode.

In addition to providing higher capacity cells, the superior nature of silicon as an efficient anode material allows less material to be used. This has economic benefits, but can also be important where weight is critical, for example in electric vehicle applications.

Nexeon started life with £0.5m of seed funding in Innovations' incubator. In July 2007 Innovations made a £1.95m investment, leading a £4.25m Series A fund raising. In February 2009 Innovations led a further £10.0m Series B round, contributing £4.0m alongside a strong syndicate that included Invesco Perpetual and PUK Ventures. Innovations owns 35.0% of Nexeon.

Susan Searle, Innovations' Chief Executive said:

"This is an important milestone for Nexeon and having supported the company since its inception, we look forward to helping Nexeon advance its innovative batteries towards commercialisation."

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Imperial Innovations - www.imperialinnovations.co.uk 

Innovations creates, builds and invests in pioneering technologies addressing global problems in healthcare, energy and engineering. It combines deep understanding of science and technology with commercial acumen and strong investment expertise. 

Innovations supports scientist-entrepreneurs in the commercialisation of their ideas by:

·; leading the formation of new companies and providing facilities in the early stages

·; providing significant investment and encouraging co-investment to accelerate the transition from R&D to products 

·; providing operational expertise

·; helping to recruit high-calibre industry figures and experienced entrepreneurs as executive management and Board members.

Innovations has exclusive access to scientific and technological developments coming out of Imperial College London, one of the world's leading research institutions. It has already achieved significant success with its early investments; for example its £1.5m investment in obesity drug developer Thiakis could return up to £22m, following its sale to Wyeth for £100m in 2008.

In the year to July 2009, Innovations invested £14.4m in 20 ventures, helping to launch six new companies. With a technology portfolio of more than 80 companies, Innovations' most advanced assets, in addition to Thiakis, include:

·; Ceres Power (now listed on AIM): Micro combined heat and power generators for domestic use

·; Circassia: Innovative vaccines for the treatment of a wide range of allergies

·; Nexeon: Advanced materials that extend the cycle life and significantly increase capacity of rechargeable batteries

·; Respivert: Discovering new treatments for respiratory diseases, including asthma

·; VeryanMed: Stents inspired by the human vascular system

J.P.Morgan Cazenove is the marketing name by J.P.Morgan Securities Ltd. in conducting its UK investment banking business