Renewable energy company Wattstor now based at ESAM

The Enterprise Space for Advanced Manufacturing (ESAM) opened in summer 2018 offering a home to new and existing businesses in advanced manufacturing, engineering and low carbon environmental goods and services.

The flagship development on the Carluddon Technology Park in St Austell offers both offices and industrial units designed to promote innovation and collaborative working and to act as a catalyst for start ups. ESAM’s location and build has been carefully considered, designed to the BREEAM “Excellent” standard, located within easy reach of the A30, mainline rail services and airport and with its workspace developed to be flexible. Businesses could start with a single, small office and have the potential to expand their operation as the business grows, with additional mezzanine floors even an option.

18 months since its launch, ESAM’s 32 units are now at 50% occupancy, with a range of businesses taking up residency, including renewable energy company, Wattstor. The Cornish company launched in 2013, initially developing battery storage options to support domestic solar energy installations but later moving onto computer systems that could optimise renewable energy use.

Wattstor’s primary product is an energy management system called iMP, or intelligent Management of Power. Designed and owned by Wattstor, the product is manufactured by a partner company in Europe.

Technical manager, Bob Hicks says: “If you invest in renewable energy, the best return is for you to use the energy itself, rather than selling it to the grid. This is where our product comes in.

“iMP can give customers complete visibility of their energy and can provide them with information on how to make better use of their energy.”

With the iMP developed, tested and ready to be introduced to the market, Wattstor found themselves restrained by their previous workspace and moved into ESAM in 2019.

Bob says: “ESAM is a high profile site and helps us show ourselves as a credible player as well as with the presentation of our system. It is a perfect turnkey solution to what we are doing.

“We have an area between an office and a workshop and our unit offers HGV access which allows us to take something off a pallet and put it right next to my desk.”

ESAM’s high speed fibre internet and secure 24 hour a day access makes it the perfect location for ambitious businesses requiring a technical space but also somewhere they can bring customers or clients.

Advanced manufacturing is considered a fundamental building block in securing Cornwall’s future economic prosperity. The investment into ESAM, part funded by the European Regional Development Fund to the tune of £6.2 million and matched by £2.7 million of Cornwall Council funding, aims to put the building blocks in place to help the sector reach its potential. ESAM and the Carluddon Technology Park represent the first phase of a wider investment into the area to develop the West Carclaze Garden Village: the proposal for a thriving new community in the Clay Country which will include new homes, shops and amenities.