A COMPANY based at Falmer has received a grant for a study totalling more than £450,000.

CDO2 is at the Sussex Innovation Centre at the University of Sussex.

It led a consortium involving researchers from the Sussex Programme for Quantum Research and has successfully bid for the money from Innovate UK.

The grant will go on a feasibility study as part of the Government’s Faraday Battery Challenge.

It will assess techniques for measuring current flow through electric vehicle batteries, with the aim of extending battery life and enhancing performance.

CDO2 is contributing more than £36,000 to the project.

Gary Kendall, founder of CDO2, said: “I joined the Sussex Innovation Centre because I was fascinated by the work going on at the Sussex Programme for Quantum Research.

“It’s great that we’ve now secured the necessary funding to turn this into a commercial application.

“The whole project came together through complete serendipity – from a casual conversation with Queen Mary at an Innovate UK conference to spotting a potential application for the work happening back in the lab.”

Other partners in the consortium are Queen Mary University of London and INEX Microtechnology Ltd.

Prof Peter Krüger, research professor of experimental physics at the University of Sussex, said: “Quantum sensors have a role to play in maximising the potential of all manner of technologies.

“Our team is delighted to be collaborating with companies to further our research and drive real practical impact from it.

“Ultimately, if our work ends up encouraging more of the public to make the switch to electric vehicles, that’s a really positive outcome.”

CDO2 is a financial technology company founded in 2004.

Since 2017, CDO2 has been based at the Sussex Innovation Centre, working with the Sussex Programme for Quantum Research to identify new opportunities to commercialise quantum technology.

Sussex Innovation is a network for entrepreneurs, start-ups, scale-ups and corporate innovators.

Since its foundation in 1996, it has helped more than 600 businesses of all sizes

The institution’s first off-campus hub, Sussex Innovation Croydon, opened in October 2015, with a third site due to open in Brighton city centre later this year.

The network hosts more than 150 member companies, spanning a range of sectors from the forefront of engineering and biomedical research to digital media and app development.

For more details go to https://www.sinc.co.uk