A Scottish firm is seeking second round funding for what it says could be a breakthrough in wearable technology and a potential solution to the air we breath becoming ‘irreversibly contaminated’ by chemical elements and particulate matter.
Ayrshire-based Compliance LEV, which specialises in Local Exhaust Ventilation (LEV), has developed baseball cap-style headwear which filters out harmful toxins and directs a flow of clean, fresh air over the user’s nose and mouth.
In early tests, the product – known as Hat 35, because its airflow is at a 35-degree angle – was shown to be 95% efficient at filtering pollutants such as sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, and 99% effective on particulates, the firm said.
The firm is now seeking in the region of £350,000 in funding to take Hat 35 from technology readiness level (TRL) 4 – which represents validation in a laboratory environment – to TRL 7, or a prototype demonstration in an operational environment.
The project is the latest initiative from Compliance LEV, which is on target for 90% growth this year driven by the success of its revolutionary Oil Mist Solution for CNC machines such as drills, lathes, mills and grinders which cuts power consumption by between 47% and 68%.
Compliance LEV Founder Kevin Simmonds, said, “Hat 35 has evolved out of the work we carry out in manufacturing settings. What we have done is apply the principles of industrial local exhaust ventilation to individuals to produce wearable technology.
“Although it will have immediate application in manufacturing and production, Hat 35 has also been recognised by many academic and legislative respiratory hygiene experts as having potentially game-changing health implications, for instance for hay fever sufferers, asthmatics or even in the event of another pandemic. It is scheduled to be fully tested by HSE on completion.
“The fact is that our air is killing us. Academic estimates suggest that 800 people an hour die globally from respiratory causes. Many of the pollutants that we are putting into the atmosphere now will never go away.”
Compliance LEV will embark on a third funding round, aimed at raising a further £500,000 to £600,000 in 2024 and, should the Hat 35 technology has qualified through successful mission operations, will seek to license the product and possibly consider a trade sale in 2026.
The company is working on a new facility in Mauchline, Ayrshire, which will more than treble its capacity and will increase its workforce to 15. It is scheduled for completion in July.
Founded in 2017, Compliance LEV incorporates a design review into its LEV examination and test phase and its project team rectifies any non-compliance. As well as extraction for the metalworking industry, it deals with wood dust, titanium dust, chemicals, respirable crystalline silica, soldering, organic and weld fumes.
