The UK-India green partnership got a boost as a micro cleantech firm in Surrey secured a £4-million order to supply its technology to a projected 2.0-gigawatt solar facility in the Indian town of Mundra in Gujarat.
Gas Recovery and Recycle Limited (GR2L) has developed, patented and exported cutting-edge technology to reduce the energy consumption, carbon footprint and cost of manufacturing solar panels. It was backed by UK Export Finance (UKEF), the UK government's export credit agency, with a £475,000 guarantee issued under its Bond Support Scheme which helped secure the Indian export order.
Rob Grant, CEO and founder of GR2L, said: “With production of brand-new argon creating up to a tonne of carbon dioxide for every tonne of argon, our cutting-edge gas recycling technology helps solar facilities reduce their scope 3 CO2 emissions and produce solar fuel cells more efficiently.
“Building on our existing export successes, support from Lloyds Bank and UKEF helped us to secure this latest growth opportunity and further develop our established international presence. I look forward to commissioning our machinery by the end of 2023.”
The UK government said GR2L’s export success story underscores the value of the UK-India trading relationship and its role in promoting innovation.
Makers of solar panels use argon gas to purify silicon crystals which are then used in solar cells. This process requires vast amounts of argon, with some producers needing to ship in multiple tankers of the gas each day. GR2L’s ArgonØ machinery claims to be a world first which allows solar cell production – as well as other advanced manufacturing activities like microelectronics production, 3D metals printing and aerospace heat treatments – instead to recycle up to 95 per cent of argon used.
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GR2L had an opportunity to supply its argon recycling technology to Mundra Solar Technology Ltd to support a solar facility being built in the town. At the same time, the Surrey SME needed to obtain payments in advance of making any deliveries to Mundra. To secure these payments, it had to issue a guarantee to assure the buyer that it could deliver, which would have meant making a cash deposit through its bank, Lloyds Bank. This however would have restricted the funds which the company needed for delivering the very same orders which it wanted to secure.
The guarantee issued under UKEF’s Bond Support Scheme meant that GR2L could instead reclaim this portion of the cash deposit, which allowed GR2L to access crucial funds needed to deliver the Mundra contract and secure this major exporting opportunity.
Lisa Maddison-Brown, UKEF Export Finance Manager for Kent, East Sussex and West Sussex, said: “It is good news that GR2L, a micro-business which has the edge in international markets thanks to the strength of its patented UK technology, is now going even further with the backing of UK Export Finance.
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“This announcement shows the value which we, working alongside financial institutions like Lloyds Bank, can bring to innovative companies – including small businesses like GR2L – to grow their global presence.”
