MIT praises Novacem technology

Imperial Innovations Group plc

MIT Technology Review tips Novacem as "Top-10 Emerging Technology"

London, 23 April 2010. Imperial Innovations Group plc (AIM: IVO, 'Innovations'), a leading technology commercialisation and investment company, announces that carbon-negative cement developed by its portfolio company Novacem has been featured as a "Top-10 Emerging Technology" by the prestigious Technology Review magazine, published by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Each year, Technology Review selects what it believes are the 10 most important emerging technologies. Its selection of "Green cement" notes that cement production is a major source of carbon dioxide creation.

The cement that Novacem is developing not only reduces the amount of CO2 produced by kilns fired during its creation, but also absorbs and locks away atmospheric CO2 on hardening. It was developed by Dr Nikolaos Vlasopoulos, with whom Innovations worked to create Novacem and spin it out of Imperial College London. Innovations was also instrumental in hiring the highly experienced entrepreneur Stuart Evans to run the company as Chief Executive.

In July 2009, Innovations joined the London Technology Fund and the Royal Society Enterprise Fund in a £1m round of funding to help commercialise the technology. As a result of the investment, Novacem has been able to expand the team and accelerate the development of its product.

Novacem's cement could find significant global markets in construction, which is a significant contributor to global carbon dioxide emissions. Conventional Portland cement, which requires higher kiln temperatures and actually releases CO2 as it sets, is estimated to contribute up to 5% of global CO2 emissions every year. For every tonne of Portland cement replaced by Novacem cement, up to 0.75 tonne of CO2 could be captured and stored indefinitely. This will transform the cement industry from a significant emitter of CO2 to a significant absorber.

Stuart Evans, Novacem CEO said:

"It is an honour to have our work recognised by such an eminent publication as Technology Review. The magazine points out the challenge of scaling up the technology to industrial levels, but with the support of Innovations and our other investors, we believe we can create a product of real value to the global construction industry."

Susan Searle, Innovations' CEO said:

"Technology Review has identified Novacem's technology as having global potential and this is exactly the kind of venture in which we invest. It is important to support pioneering research from Britain's universities with substantial funding and entrepreneurial expertise so that the achievements of our scientists can be turned into profitable businesses."

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Notes to editors

Imperial Innovations - www.imperialinnovations.co.uk 

Innovations creates, builds and invests in pioneering technologies addressing global problems in healthcare, energy and engineering. It combines deep understanding of science and technology with commercial acumen and strong investment expertise. 

Innovations supports scientist-entrepreneurs in the commercialisation of their ideas by:

·; leading the formation of new companies and providing facilities in the early stages

·; providing significant investment and encouraging co-investment to accelerate the transition from R&D to products

·; providing operational expertise

·; helping to recruit high-calibre industry figures and experienced entrepreneurs as executive management and Board members.

Innovations has exclusive access to scientific and technological developments coming out of Imperial College London, one of the world's leading research institutions. It has already achieved significant success with its early investments; for example its £1.5m investment in obesity drug developer Thiakis could return up to £22m, following its sale to Wyeth for £100m in 2008.

In the year to July 2009, Innovations invested £14.4m in 20 ventures, helping to launch six new companies. With a technology portfolio of more than 80 companies, Innovations' most advanced assets, in addition to Thiakis, include:

·; Ceres Power (now listed on AIM): Micro combined heat and power generators for domestic use

·; Circassia: Innovative vaccines for the treatment of a wide range of allergies

·; Nexeon: Advanced materials that extend the cycle life and significantly increase capacity of rechargeable batteries

·; Respivert: Discovering new treatments for respiratory diseases, including asthma

·; VeryanMed: Stents inspired by the human vascular system

Novacem Limited - www. novacem.com

Novacem, founded in 2007, is a spin-out from Imperial College London. The founders are Stuart Evans, Dr Nikolaos Vlasopoulos and Dr Chris Cheeseman. Stuart Evans is the Company's chairman. He is an experienced technology entrepreneur, having been the founding CEO at Cotag International and then at Plastic Logic. Dr Vlasopoulos is the Company's Chief Scientist and Dr Cheeseman, who is a Reader in Waste Management at Imperial College London, is the Company's Senior Scientific Adviser.

The Company is developing a new generation of green cement systems that is designed to help combat global warming by locking atmospheric CO2 into construction materials. Its cement combines the sustainability of timber and the recyclability of metal with the technical properties and high thermal mass of concrete. Its use therefore minimises CO2 emissions during building construction, operation and disposal. It novel recyclable cement system is based on magnesium oxide and special mineral additives. In contrast to Portland cement, its manufacturing process causes minimal CO2 emissions and it requires lower temperature processing. It hardens by absorbing atmospheric CO2 and therefore offers the unique potential to develop a range of 'carbon negative' construction materials.