Celebrating its 55th anniversary in 2024, the MacRobert Award, the UK’s longest running and most prestigious prize for engineering innovation, continues to attract a high calibre of submissions each year. With a £50,000 prize, gold medal and opportunity to sit amongst an illustrious group of winners including Rolls Royce, Raspberry Pi and Ceres Power, the MacRobert Award judging panel has the unenviable task of selecting just three finalists each year to be publicly recognised for their extraordinary innovations.
Once an organisation is shortlisted as a finalist, the MacRobert Award judges take part in site visits to meet each team, explore the facilities, and get under the skin of each innovation. Following the recent announcement of the 2024 MacRobert Award winner, we look back at this year’s judges’ visits to each of our 2024 finalists and discover more about what made each innovation so exceptional.
Sunamp
The MacRobert Award judges arrived in Edinburgh to be hosted by Sunamp, who were shortlisted for their development of innovative heat batteries utilising phase-change material (PCM) to revolutionise thermal energy storage.
The judges were warmly greeted by Sunamp's husband and wife founders, Andrew and Susan Lang Bissell. Upon arrival, they were treated to an immediate demonstration of Sunamp's technology in action, as the hot water in the kitchen sink was powered by Sunamp's own heat batteries.
Once this demonstration was complete, Andrew spoke to the judges about Sunamp’s journey. Launched in 2005, Sunamp embarked on a mission to address climate change by revolutionising heat energy management through thermal storage. The judges learned that the challenge for Sunamp was significant – heating and hot water accounts for 80% of a household’s energy use and no one had developed an efficient heat-storing battery. Fast forward 19 years and Sunamp stands as a finalist for the UK’s most prestigious award for engineering innovation and a global leader in thermal storage technology, credited with designing and manufacturing the world’s first commercial PCM heat batteries.
Dr Kate Fisher, Sunamp’s Head of Materials and Test, then provided a further explanation to what made this technology especially innovative. The judges learned that PCM stores thermal energy by transitioning between solid and liquid states at specific temperatures. Maria Telkes, who originally developed PCM in the 1940s, built a solar house prototype using PCM to store daytime solar energy for nighttime heating. However, her system's PCM eventually degraded after only months of use.
Sunamp followed in Telkes’ lead, and in collaboration with the University of Edinburgh’s School of Chemistry, developed a new method for thermal energy storage using a salt-based PCM. Unlike Telkes’ early efforts, Sunamp has successfully stabilised its PCM and boasts a life cycle of over 40,000 cycles, equivalent to more than 50 years of normal use. It wasn’t just the longevity of the heat batteries which was impressive to the judges - their small size means they’re easier to install in domestic and commercial settings, effectively replacing large and unsightly gas boilers and hot water tanks.
Sunamp continues to lead the way in thermal storage innovation, making significant strides in the quest to reduce carbon emissions and enhance energy efficiency in buildings worldwide.
What did the judges think?
Sunamp's innovative heat batteries, using phase-change materials are a game-changer in thermal energy storage, offering a critical solution in the fight against climate change. During our visit to their Edinburgh headquarters, we were immediately impressed by a live demonstration of their technology in action—hot water in the kitchen was powered by Sunamp’s own heat batteries. This firsthand experience underscored the practicality and efficiency of their innovation.
This visit left us judges with a deep appreciation for Sunamp's ability to revolutionise heat energy management and its potential to significantly reduce carbon emissions. The work being done here is not just impressive; it's essential for a more sustainable future.
Dr R V Ahilan FREng, MacRobert Award Judge
About the MacRobert Award
The MacRobert Award is the UK’s longest running and most prestigious prize for engineering innovation. The winning team is presented with a £50,000 prize, a gold medal, national publicity, and a weekend away at Douneside House in the heart of the MacRobert Trusts estate in Aberdeenshire.
Nominations for the 2025 MacRobert Award are now open until 31 January 2025. Please contact Patrick Woodcock, MacRobert Award manager, on 02077 660 630 or [email protected] should you wish to discuss putting forward a nomination.