UC sells stake in green market car technology company Arcactive

The University of Canterbury (UC) has sold its equity stake in high-tech company Arcactive Ltd to a group of existing shareholders for an undisclosed sum.

Arcactive is a UC spin-out company which has developed a lead carbon battery for micro hybrid cars.

Bill Lee, the commercial director of Research and Innovation at UC, said the equity sale allowed Arcative to take control and drive the company forward, which was consistent with UC’s philosophy of transferring ideas to the commercial world at an early opportunity.

UC technology enabled Arcactive to develop a continuous system for the production of carbon nanotubes and activated carbon. The result is a highly transformed carbon fabric that can be used in a number of products.

Arcactive is focusing on negative electrodes for lead acid batteries for use in start/stop vehicles. The batteries enable automakers to be competitive and significantly improve fuel economy compared to the absorbed glass mat batteries.

The company recently won the international award for excellence in the field of environmental technology research at this year’s international CleanEquity conference in Monaco.