LAST year s overall winner, Pursuit Dynamics plc, based at Hinchingbrooke Business Park in Huntingdon, has prospered mightily since the awards ceremony last November. Having won the Innovation Award 2007 for a new product that can save brewers up to half

LAST year's overall winner, Pursuit Dynamics plc, based at Hinchingbrooke Business Park in Huntingdon, has prospered mightily since the awards ceremony last November.

Having won the Innovation Award 2007 for a new product that can save brewers up to half the energy they use in making beer, the company was judged best of all the corporate winners in the competition.

The most recent success for the developer and exploiter of the PDX platform technology is the signing earlier this month of a licence agreement with EADS Deutschland for the use of the PDX Basilisk technology throughout the NATO countries in Europe. The licence has an initial term of two years with exclusivity to EADS for the first year.

Pursuit says the PDX Basilisk is a highly effective and proven decontamination system it has developed over the past four years. It is uniquely capable of defeating both airborne and surface chemical and biological threat material, an excited company spokesman said.

The licence permits EADS to use the ultra-fine-mist Basilisk technology in the disinfection and decontamination of people, personal equipment, vehicles, aircraft and buildings including hospitals, field hospitals, livestock and livestock infrastructure.

Chief executive John Heathcote said: "This represents the first commercial agreement for our Basilisk technology following an extensive period of demonstrating to, and trialling with, various government agencies and defence contractors in various countries.

"We believe the system represents a step-change in efficiency compared with other large-scale decontamination and disinfection technologies available today.

"We view this agreement as the first step in the commercialisation process of Basilisk and anticipate further licensing opportunities outside Europe over the next few months."

Last year's winning innovation was the PDX wort heater - the wort is the infusion of malt and hops at the heart of the brewing process - which had been in development at Hinchingbrooke Business Park for three years in partnership with Brewing Research International (BRi) and brewers Coors.

It was redefining the brewing industry by saving energy on an intensive process and enabling brewers to produce products cheaper, faster and greener than before, the company said.

Pursuit Dynamics was founded in 2000 before five years' development work brought the PDX technology to the market place.

LAST YEAR'S LAUREL WREATH: Whitmarsh Sterland partner Peter Chandler, left, presented the Business of the Year Award 2007 to Pursuit Dynamics' jubilant winners, Mary Waudby and Jens Thorup, in a ceremony at the Burgess Hall, in St Ives, compèred by BBC TV Look East presenter Stewart White, right.