Increased efficiency in heating systems is a closer reality thanks to the work being undertaken by ESA Business Incubation Centre Harwell start-up company Oxford nanoSystems.

The company is developing the nanocoating technology to improve heat transfer in a variety of heating and cooling systems. These coatings will not only help manufacturers and the public save money, but also will help the environment because they help these systems reduce fuel consumption and carbon emissions .

The coatings call on microthrusters originally developed to make tiny adjustments to the orientation of satellites: electrostatic repulsion accelerates a material through a tiny nozzle for manoeuvring in space.

Applied to liquids on Earth, the technique allows very thin coatings to be accurately directed onto surfaces. In the case of Oxford nanoSystems, the coating is designed to decrease the build-up of limescale in water environments.

Oxford nanoSystems is developing this novel technology with the support of ESA Technology Transfer Programme's Business Incubation Centre Harwell. Recently, the company secured Pounds 300 000 of investment, enabling them to bring their patented products closer to market.