Physicists Charles Altuzarra and Yash D Shah, founders of Metahelios each received a £25,000 loan in July 2022 to kickstart their business. The entrepreneurs have created a first-of-its-kind, long-distance camera that can manipulate light to distinguish between a range of materials from a still image. They are aiming to deploy the technology into space on a rocket from one of the UK’s spaceport sites, capturing data via a satellite that can be used to monitor climate change and orbiting space debris.
“We’re making significant progress in taking our cameras to the next stage and proving the capabilities of our technology – and we’re currently in the process of raising equity funding. The advice we’ve received from some of the industry’s biggest names has been nothing short of inspiring, and we’ve got ambitious plans to be at the forefront of the UK’s space race.
“The loans Yash and I received were instrumental, as they allowed us to invest in manufacturing and testing prototypes. We wouldn’t be where we are today without the initial support we received through the Start Up Loans programme, and we hope the British Business Bank continues to invest in space start-ups which are working to deliver a range of benefits to our planet.”
