Tri-Air Developments - fresh air technology that naturally and safely decontaminates indoor air and surfaces

One recent example of our product development work is with Tri-Air Developments. This is a unique ‘fresh air’ technology that naturally and safely decontaminates indoor air and surfaces to protect against viruses, bacteria and superbugs, including MRSA, SARS and Influenza. This is the latest-generation technology and is proven to be the most effective available, with unprecedented kill rates of up to 99.9999%. The technology can be installed into existing ventilation systems or used as a portable unit, much like small air conditioning units. The market includes hospitals, surgeries, public buildings, offices, homes and hotels.

Tri-Air Developments approached PA Consulting Group early in 2009 with some exciting product ideas in the area of air and surface decontamination. The disruptive and game changing technology used a combination of atmospheric plasma, UV catalysis and precise fluidic dosing to generate hydroxyl radicals that kill pathogens in the air and on surfaces without any need for human exclusion.  The technology can work stand alone or with HVAC systems.

The technology had been demonstrated with the UK HPA but its development status was failing to realise its potential value in discussions with customers.  Large public and private sector clients were impressed by the results but nervous in placing an order with a small start up company, without the broad range of technical disciplines (industrial design, mechanical design, electrical design, plasma physics, chemistry etc.) to turn the demonstrator into a product.

The first hurdle PA tackled was turning the demonstrator into a marketing model.  PA industrial designers took the engine of the demonstrator and developed a number of industrial designs for the target markets. This "works like, looks like" demonstrator helped Tri-Air Developments secure the orders and its initial revenue streams. PA undertook a rapid product and manufacturing development to reduce the cost and make the product manufacturable by standard contract electronic manufacturers. It achieved this in under 6 months. Tri-Air Development's test partner BRE undertook the regulatory approvals process to ensure the product complied with relevant national regulations in the target market geographies (USA, Asia and EU).

PA and Tri-Air Developments are currently working on products based on the technology platform. 

To find out more about our product development services, please contact us.