Firms win funding for new ideas

EEDA works to bring investment to the region

Twenty-nine companies from across the East of England have won a share of £400,000 to help test the commercial potential of their new business ideas.

The East of England Development Agency (EEDA) has announced 29 companies across the region will receive up to £20,000 to improve their ideas.

Projects include new techniques for art restoration, a new smoke alarm and a robotic assistant for scientists.

EEDA is now seeking applications for the next round of grants.

Trevor Conway, EEDA's business finance manager, said: "Despite the recession, there are still ambitious entrepreneurs out there trying to bring new products to the market.

"EEDA's Proof of Concept funding is there to give these people a head-start; to really identify gaps in the market and how they could adapt their projects to fill those gaps."

Firms winning grants include:

• Tx3 Solutions, eXeTek, Sustainable Opportunities (Bedfordshire)

• Inside2Outside, Minari International Limited, SmartDrive Ltd, C4 Carbides, Oval Medical Technologies, Meta Alternative, Trumpington Technologies, Cambridge Enterprise Ltd, Newson Innovations, Stephen Parsons, March Foods(Cambridgeshire)

• GSL Mechanical Handling, Invasen Ongar, EtherSec Industries, Benoxer Products, Sci-Tech (POB), Owen Ephraim, NHS North-East Essex, Dr Gareth Howells & Professor Klaus McDonald-Maier (Essex)

• Emergency Life Sciences, Zoneguard, ManagemyIP (Hertfordshire)

• Disrupta Tek (Norfolk)

• Sabre Guitars, NHS Suffolk Community Refugee Team, Safety On-Board Systems (Suffolk).

The deadline for applications for the next round of applications is Friday 8 January 2010.