Pure air takes charge
SOLAR solutions expert Evergen Systems is stepping up its “mission clean sweep” with air purifiers in spaces from hospitals to roadsides.
Now in action in the NHS’s Hull Royal Infirmary following a successful demonstration, where air was found to be on average 55.09 per cent cleaner, the company’s Evergen Air filter-free units use electric charge technology to trap and zap super fine polluting and viral matter, including coronavirus particles.
The units, which range from the size of a small case to a fridge freezer and cost £2,000 upwards, are suitable for commercial and public sector buildings and outdoor areas.
With the potential for more NHS England, healthcare and other commissions, group turnover for next year is forecast to be £23 million. Within that, Evergen’s core revenue generator continues to be its solar and battery installation business that caters for residential, new-build housing and commercial sectors.
After years of operating in an uncertain landscape riven by policy and subsidy changes, the market is reviving says Ricky Singh, chief executive of the family firm started by his father Sukhbir Sidhu, which employs 44 in Berkshire, Yorkshire and Norfolk.
“Our business stalled during lockdown, but the subsidy shackles have now come off,” Singh explains. “There is much more eco awareness now about the climate crisis among the public and energy suppliers. Clients used to be aged 45 plus, now they are younger and there is an attitude change.”
It was the sector’s turmoil that prompted Evergen in 2017 to start future proofing with diversification into air quality and urban air pollution, a move resulting in hygiene and virus control through the Evergen Air brand. As well as public spaces, applications are being extended to incar purifiers and other monitoring services. Investors have approached the company and for the first time, Evergen is considering external funding of up to £75 million.
This comes as it firms up a plan involving its solar panels that is aimed at lowering energy costs for tenants in social housing currently using high charging pre-pay meters.
While its solar panels are made in China, its purifiers are produced in Italy. “International collaborations have been important, enabling us to take generic technology and innovate by making it more sustainable,” says Singh. Efforts to find domestic manufacturers are seeding a grand plan.
“We’ve decided to build our own UK factory,” Singh reveals, “and start production by 2026.”