Ossila Limited, a company pioneered by physicists at the University of Sheffield, has been awarded one of the highest accolades given to UK businesses.
The company, which provides components, equipment and materials to support the cutting-edge research of scientists and engineers, has been given a Queen's Award for Enterprise.
These prestigious prizes are granted annually by Her Majesty The Queen, based on the recommendations of the Prime Minister, together with an Advisory Committee of representatives from government, industry, commerce and trade unions.
The news comes soon after Ossila received the Institute of Physics (IOP) Business Innovation Award for its ground-breaking solar cell prototyping platform, which quickly allows researchers to start making laboratory-scale but fully-functional solar cells.
It's great to see the basic and applied research done in my research group being the catalyst for a business that now provides jobs for a large number of people
Professor David Lidzey
Co-founder of Ossila
Ossila is chaired by Professor David Lidzey from the Department of Physics and Astronomy, and its technical Director is Dr Alastair Buckley, our Senior Lecturer in Organic Electronics.
The Queen's Award recognises their outstanding achievements in international trade, illustrated by a continuous growth in global sales over the past six years. The company, which is based at the University of Sheffield's Innovation Centre, now supplies products to over 1,000 different institutions in over 60 countries.
The development of Ossila's solar cell prototyping platform has enabled researchers to create functional solar cells from which big discoveries can be made by researchers across the world. This groundbreaking innovation can be used to advance research into renewable energy devices.
Professor Lidzey, co-founder of Ossila, said: "I am delighted that Ossila has been recognised by the Queen's Award for Enterprise. Working with Ossila has for me been personally exciting and very rewarding. It's great to see the basic and applied research done in my research group being the catalyst for a business that now provides jobs for a large number of people.
"The collaboration between the University of Sheffield and Ossila continues to grow, and I can see deeper links developing in the coming years."
Representatives from Ossila will attend an official Awards Reception hosted by members of the Royal Family at Buckingham Palace later this year.
