The funding will support the East Kilbride-based company to accelerate the deployment of its patented, PRISMA Advanced Liquid Air Energy Storage system.

PRISMA provides a long-duration and flexible energy storage solution for energy intensive businesses. It aims to resolve the intermittency and fluctuating supply issues seen in renewable energy generation, and does so in a safer, more cost-effective and environmentally friendly way compared to current mainstream lithium-ion batteries.

The award-winning technology is predominately made from fully recyclable materials. It works by using off-peak electricity to cool and liquefy compressed air. It then converts this stored, liquid energy back into compressed air to generate power when it is needed. It has been proven to reduce energy costs and CO2 emissions by up to 30% per industrial site.

The investment will enable Innovatium to grow its team, scale production and fast-track the commercial rollout of the PRISMA system. The investment is expected to create 30 jobs in Scotland over the next four years and will support the scaling of the technology for use in data centres, where energy demand and sustainability pressures are causing global concern.

This is the first investment HIES has made in a Scottish company. In addition to investing, HIES will supply core compressor components for PRISMA and expand Innovatium’s sales through its Hitachi Global Air Power and HIES Europe divisions. This partnership opens new commercial opportunities for the company in international markets.

Brian Jack, CEO of Innovatium Group, said: “We’ve entered a new and very exciting growth phase for us which includes immediate plans to expand our team, advance PRISMA technology, and build additional depth within the business to meet rising demand from customers.

“This investment gives us the platform to scale-up significantly and we can now offer a much broader portfolio of solutions, creating new value for our customers in the UK and globally. We have never been better placed to deliver solutions to support the energy transition.”

Ailsa Young, investment director at the Scottish National Investment Bank, said: “Innovatium’s novel, patented technology is highly scalable and has the potential to significantly reduce industrial carbon emissions across a range of energy-intensive industries, including data centres where the rapid acceleration of AI has caused environmental concern.

“As an impact investor, we were attracted to Innovatium’s potential to be a driver of Scotland’s net-zero economy, and we are pleased to be investing alongside Hitachi Industrial Equipment Systems, which will also be supporting the commercial rollout of PRISMA.”

The bank is Scotland’s development bank. It aims for its investment to deliver both commercial returns and societal benefits. Its investment in Innovatium is aligned to its missions to support the net-zero economy and scale home-grown technology and innovation.

In 2022, PRISMA was awarded the Innovating Scotland Award at the VIBES Scottish Environment Business Awards and Innovation of the Year: Projects & Products Award at the 2023 edie Net Zero Awards.