SageTech Medical has secured a £3.6m grant through Innovate UK’s Grand Challenge to scale a system that recycles waste anaesthetic gases used in surgery.
The funding, announced on 12 April 2025, was awarded to a consortium led by SageTech Medical alongside the Manufacturing Technology Centre, the Centre for Process Innovation, the NIHR HealthTech Research Centre in Sustainable Innovation and the University of Plymouth.
It follows SageTech Medical’s earlier success at the expression of interest stage of the Sustainable Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Programme, which supports collaborative R&D awards worth up to £10m per project.
The project targets “volatile” anaesthetic gases, inhaled medicines used to keep patients unconscious during operations. Much of the gas is not metabolised and is exhaled, and these gases can act as potent greenhouse agents.
SageTech Medical said atmospheric release of these gases accounts for about 4 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent emissions each year worldwide. It added that manufacturing contributes a further 2.5 million tonnes, with waste management systems adding an estimated 1.25 million tonnes.
The company’s approach uses reusable SID-Can filters to capture waste anaesthetic during procedures. The filters are returned for agent recovery and recycling, with the recovered gases converted back into usable anaesthetics for reuse.
SageTech Medical said the new funding will support expanded manufacturing capacity and higher output of its patented recycling systems, as well as data-driven technologies for gas recovery and reuse, alongside work to improve energy efficiency and cut waste across production.
“Securing this Grand Challenge funding marks a major milestone for SageTech Medical,” said Steve Wileman, head of research. “SageTech are delighted to be working with some of the brightest and best scientists and engineers through MTC and CPI, and the opportunity to work again with trusted partners at Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust and The University of Plymouth is very exciting. This funding will enable SageTech to build on the technologies we have developed, focusing on enhanced sustainability, costs reductions, and to prepare for increased scale as we expand across the UK, into the EU, and beyond.”
