Nanoco wants £15m for expansion

27th Jan 2011 18:09

AIM-quoted Nanoco, which makes cadmium-free quantum dots used in lighting and solar panels, is raising up to £15m. A share price will be set after a bookbuilding exercise. Nanoco had net cash of £4m at the end of 2010.Nanoco has commissioned the production lines at its new factory in Runcorn. This will enable commercial-scale batches of cadmium-free quantum dots to be produced. The two lines could produce 25kg of cadmium-free quantum dots a year - and that could go a long way. Nanoco plans to deliver 1kg of cadmium-free quantum dots to a customer within a few months. Once the delivery is validated this will trigger a $2m milestone payment. A second 1kg delivery could be shopped in mid-2011 on similar terms. Some of the cash will go towards investing in two more production lines that will take capacity to 150kg a year. There are also plans to invest more in R&D and protecting intellectual property.