East Lothian heat battery pioneer Sunamp among firms to gain King’s Award for Enterprise

Sunamp, the East Lothian-based thermal storage specialist, is one of 148 organisations across the UK to be recognised with a prestigious King’s Award for Enterprise.

Employing 80 people, the firm was set up in 2005 and is a pioneer in the development of thermal storage systems. Its thermal batteries are up to four times smaller and are said to store up to four times more energy than the hot water tanks they replace. They can be charged by a range of energy sources.

Macmerry-based Sunamp has been recognised for its excellence in innovation. A total of 149 King’s awards have been made with one company being recognised with two awards. The awards were previously known as the Queen’s Awards for Enterprise. The annual programme, now in its 57th year, is regarded as the most prestigious business award in the country, with successful businesses able to use the esteemed King’s Awards emblem for the next five years.

Sunamp chief executive Andrew Bissell said: “This award marks a milestone in Sunamp’s journey so far, from developing our game-changing phase change materials, to becoming world leaders in thermal storage technologies. The world struggled from 1947 to realise the heat battery vision of space-saving, easy to install and use, energy efficient storage for thermal energy. The lack of stable materials hampered efforts by large companies and prestigious universities.”

He added: “We achieved the breakthrough in the early 2010s which enabled us to arrive at the solution. Since 2018 we have brought this to market via four generations of heat battery products and so far we have delivered over 25,000 units. I am proud of everything we have achieved, and receiving a King’s Award recognises everyone involved.”

At the end of 2021, it emerged that Sunamp would see its “world-leading” technology installed in buildings across New York State as part of a new project that took the firm into the US. Thermal storage systems developed by Sunamp in Scotland will be installed in residential and commercial buildings as part of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority’s NextGen Innovation Challenges award. The project will demonstrate potential ways of cutting carbon emissions and improving energy resilience.