Home to one of the largest communities of ambitious agritech, biotech and biopharma businesses in the UK, Kent Science Park is the perfect space for science companies building sustainable and renewable technology solutions.  Two companies doing precisely this are ADEY and SGMA, both of which relocated to the laboratories in Kent Science Park to grow their sustainability missions.

For ADEY, that mission is to eliminate industrial heating system breakdowns, essential to the functioning of our essential infrastructure, in an eco-aware and sustainable way, while for SgMA, this means tackling the global problem posed by plastic pollution.

Innovation at ADEY: Magnetic filtration

For a homeowner, a heating system breakdown is a costly annoyance. But the results can be critically disruptive for schools, hospitals and care homes.

ADEY develops solutions to make our health care and key infrastructure heating systems cleaner and greener. Chris Adey, the pioneer of magnetic filtration in heating systems, founded the business in 2003 after developing an entirely new technology which can be used to clear out debris and bacteria-harbouring sludge before it blocks a water system or contaminates the water supply.

The company’s first MagnaClean filter established a new industry standard and is now a specified installation requirement throughout utilities, local authorities, housing and maintenance sectors.

Laboratories in Kent Science Park

ADEY has grown substantially over the last two decades. After acquiring Alpha Scientific in 2019, the company expanded its portfolio of products to include water treatment products and water testing services.

From its base at Kent Science Park, ADEY’s team of chemists provides fast, accurate and thorough reports for central heating and mains water.

Mo Jassal, Chemistry and Disruptive Technologies Director at ADEY explains: “We now have three laboratories in Kent Science Park that cover traditional microbiological procedures. A core piece of machinery in the labs is our spectrophotometer, which allows the team to record results exceptionally quickly. Ordinarily a bacteriological identification might take up to five days, but with this machine we can do that five days’ worth of work in two minutes.

“This has significant real world applications. In a hospital environment for instance, there could be a room that is being kept closed for potential contaminate, which would have to remained closed for five days awaiting results. Through the work that we do at ADEY, we can enable hospitals to open those rooms up that much quicker.

“We know that we are making a positive impact on people’s lives. Whether it’s helping people at home to bring down their energy bills, or whether it’s preventing someone in a healthcare setting from getting ill, there’s genuine value and worth to what the team does.”

Room to grow

As the business expanded, and to accommodate for the increase in volume and number of samples it has coming in, ADEY needed to take on more space and laboratories.

Fortunately, at Kent Science Park, there is ample room for businesses to grow. The biotech incubator comprises high-specification labs, office and coworking spaces across 47 buildings, with planning permission in place for over 120,000 sq ft of land for future development.

Mo continues: “ADEY is now roughly triple the size that we were expecting to be back in 2018, and still all on the same site. The ability to grow and scale at Kent Science Park has been significant in our expansion story.

“Pioneer Group has created a really nice environment to work in. The facilities and the open spaces around Kent Science Park help our team to stay happy and healthy; we love being able to have our lunches outside – and the BBQs and pizza days always go down well with everyone!”

SGMA: developing sustainable alternatives

SGMA, which is also part of our community at Kent Science Park, has developed Solgelica, a sustainable alternative that’s biodegradable, compostable, and recyclable.

Of the 2.5 billion coffee cups Britons consume yearly, only one in 400 is sent for recycling. Painfully few can make it through this recycling process. Most will leave harmful toxins and microplastics in our drinks, landscapes, and seas. Each cup typically costs us a carbon footprint equivalent to 60.9 grammes.

SGMA’s paper treatment ‘Solgelica’ for fibre-based packaging provides a complete alternative for single-use plastics and plastic liners in paper packaging. It leaves no toxins or microplastics. Instead, it harmlessly returns to its previous state as silica sand.

Fanya Ismail, CEO at SgMA, explains: “I looked at what people had been doing, and I was horrified by the amount of toxic chemicals that are pushed to the market and end up in the hands of consumers. There needed to be a solution, but at the time there was no solution that’s viable; there was no solution that was 100% plastic, microplastic and toxin-free. I thought to myself, surely things can be done better.”

“The foundation of Solgelica is silica sand. We apply it to pure fibre boards and it makes materials completely waterproof. After use, the fibres start to biodegrade, and eventually will turn back into silica sand, meaning no toxin or anything harmful to the environment is left behind.

“Solgelica is recyclable, biodegradable, and compostable. It’s toxin free, it’s plastic and microplastic free. It ticks all these boxes.”

Joining the expert network at Kent Science Park

Fanya continues: “SGMA started from a kitchen table, then we moved into a little garage. Having lived for a number of years in that garage, when we moved to the laboratories in Kent Science Park, we couldn’t believe the difference.”

Invitation-only pitching competitions, investment opportunity roundups, unique collaborations, and trade visits are regular features for Pioneer Group-based start-ups. We also regularly hold industry events where leaders share their thoughts, experiences and the lessons learnt over the years. It’s what being a part of our community is all about.

“We are surrounded by likeminded people and now have access to an expert network where you can shout out if you need any sort of help. This has made a huge difference for us at SGMA.”

Kent Science Park was awarded the UKSPA Best Life Science Research Facility in South East England. To the companies who call us home, we are a cheerleader, guiding friend and collaborator. To find out more about the campus, download our brochure here.