It’s all very well having a grown-up staged methodology for evaluating investment propositions.  But eventually you reach the end of Stage 4, and have to decide whether to sign a cheque or not.  I gave myself the weekend to read through the background material and my due diligence assessment.  And then took the plunge.

On-Sun Systems is the newest company in the Anglo Scientific incubator.  The company is developing a low cost tracking mechanism for Concentrated Photovoltaics (CPV).  Their panels will be inexpensive, flat and capable of being roof-mounted.  In the 25% of the world solar market which receives sufficient direct sunlight for CPV to be worthwhile, their panels should deliver a competitive amount of solar energy for a given roof space and per dollar invested.  Most importantly, as a lapsed physicist who has spent my lifetime working with semiconductors, I love the fact that this business is developing an opto-mechanical tracking mechanism and not semiconductor materials.  There are already several suppliers of triple junction photovoltaic cells, and these will be merely a component in the assembly, rather than the focus of investment for On-Sun.

Above all, I like the people.  Every member of the management team has been approachable, professional and all of my (numerous) questions have been answered promptly and to the best of their ability.  I hope I’ll be reading these words with the same feelings in 3 years, but I’m pleased to be supporting the development of this business and look forward to their quarterly progress reports.