A cost effective, solar water heating system, pioneered by researchers at the University of Ulster, is through to the final of a major competition to find the UK’s most innovative new products.

SolaCatcher has been on display at the Science Museum in London for the past week and topped the ‘Make it . . . Sustainable’ category in the Make it in Great Britain Challenge through an online voting process.

It’s the brainchild of Dr Mervyn Smyth, Reader at Ulster’s School of the Built Environment, who is working on a commercial prototype alongside Dominic McLarnon, Research Fellow at Ulster’s Centre for Sustainable Technologies.

SolaCatcher will be returning to London during the final week of the exhibition, beginning on August 28, when voting begins to find the overall winner of the competition’s five categories.

Business Minister Mark Prisk said: The UK is full of creative manufacturing expertise and I’m delighted that we are able to celebrate some of the best pre-market ideas through the Challenge.

“I’d urge the public to cast their vote on who they would like to win.”

To find out more about the finalists and to vote for the overall winner, visit the Make it in Great Britain website http://makeitingreatbritain.bis.gov.uk/ from August 28 to September 9.

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