Binary actuator scoops IChemE award

Camcon Technology, the inventor and developer of the Camcon binary actuator, has received the Amec Award for Innovation and Excellence from The Institute of Chemical Engineers (IChemE).

Camcon Technology, the inventor and developer of the Camcon binary actuator, has received the Amec Award for Innovation and Excellence from The Institute of Chemical Engineers (IChemE).

Camcon received the award for the application of the Camcon binary actuator in the energy industry with particular emphasis on the oil and gas sector, where it has the potential to revolutionise offshore drilling and hydrocarbon extraction.

Independent oil industry studies have shown that one configuration of Camcon's technology could increase the yield of remote oil wells by up to 30%.

The technology is also applicable in high pressure drill head and Christmas tree applications.

The Camcon binary actuator is an elegant, low impact valve design that recycles energy using a combination of magnets and springs.

It requires energy only to change state of the actuator and will work for years off a small power source, typically a battery, at very high speeds.

"When I first came across the Camcon development, I had a feeling that it was a world beater".

"The IChemE award, together with the other awards that it won this year, has confirmed my hunch".

"Industry validation for Camcon's technology is the strongest possible acclaim that the Camcon team could receive", said Danny Chapchal, Chairman, Camcon.

"Camcon's technology, the binary actuator, has the potential to revolutionise engineering in the same way that the transistor changed the electronics industry", said Wladyslaw Wygnanski, CEO, Camcon.

The Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) is the professional body for chemical and process engineers.

Camcon founder and CEO Wladyslaw Wygnanski and Chairman Danny Chapchal accepted the award from Michael Portillo MP at the 2004 IChemE Awards Dinner on 28th September 2004 at Christ Church Spitalfields, London.

The IChemE award follows Camcon's receipt of the Cambridge Evening News Business Excellence Award in March 2004 and the Innovation Award from the East of England Energy Group in January 2004.

Camcon received the award for its energy-efficient rolling-swing valve.

The shortlist for the Amec Award for Innovation and Excellence in SMEs included: University of Nottingham and HEL for a gasless reactor; NiTech Solutions for oscillatory baffled reactors; RWE Nukem for a nuclear waste treatment plant; and Scionix for choline-based ionic liquids.

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