Scottish cleantech firm Innovatium has won a £3 million investment from the Scottish National Investment Bank alongside Hitachi Industrial Equipment Systems (HIES), a cash injection that will help the business develop its green energy solutions for the growing data centre market.

The East Kilbride-based company will use the new funding to speed up the rollout of its PRISMA Advanced Liquid Air Energy Storage system, which the firm claims can store renewable energy in a safer, cheaper, and cleaner way than traditional lithium-ion batteries.

Predominantly made from fully recyclable materials, the PRISMA system uses off-peak electricity to cool and liquefy compressed air, before converting this stored, liquid energy back into compressed air to generate power when it is needed. 

The technology has been proven to reduce energy costs and CO2 emissions by up to 30% per industrial site, providing what the firm describes as a flexible energy storage solution for the most energy-intensive businesses. 

With this new investment, Innovatium plans to scale production and fast-track the commercial rollout of the PRISMA system, creating thirty jobs in Scotland over the next four years.

The funding will also support the scaling of the technology for use in data centres, where rising energy demands and sustainability pressures caused by intense AI production are causing global concern.   

Innovatiu’s deal also marks the first investment that the Japan-headquartered HIES has made in a Scottish company. 

In addition to investing, HIES will supply core compressor components for PRISMA and expand Innovatium’s sales through its Hitachi Global Air Power and HIES Europe divisions, a partnership it’s hoped will open new opportunities for the company in international markets.  

Recommended reading

• Google Data Centre Energy Consumption Surged 125% Over 5 Years
• AI May Consume Half of Data Centre Power by End of 2025
• How Many Scots Support Clean Energy Infrastructure Being Built?

“We’ve entered a new and very exciting growth phase for us, which includes immediate plans to expand our team, advance PRISMA technology, and build additional depth within the business to meet rising demand from customers,” said Brian Jack, CEO of Innovatium Group Limited. 

“This investment gives us the platform to scale up significantly, and we can now offer a much broader portfolio of solutions, creating new value for our customers in the UK and globally. 

“We have never been better placed to deliver solutions to support the energy transition.”