Innova NanoJet Technologies, a Scottish deep-tech company, has been named Air Purification Technology Innovator of the Year 2026 in SME News’ UK Enterprise Awards. The award is based on Innova’s NanoJet platform technology. The technology takes an active, water-based approach to whole-space air purification.
“Our long-term ambition has always been much bigger than creating another air purifier. We believe there is an opportunity to establish an entirely new approach to indoor air purification – one that combines innovation, sustainability and practical real-world performance,” said Innova founder and chairman Dr Charles Huang.
How it works
While most air purifiers pull room air through a filter, and some release ions or oxidantsi not the room, NanoJet is different.
The technology generates trillions of supersonic nano-sized water droplets using twin-fluid air and liquid dynamics. Instead of repelling pollutants as conventional sprays do, the droplets collide with and encapsulate bacteria and contaminants. These contaminants include aerosols, allergens, microorganisms, odours and pollutants.
“For many years, air purification has largely been associated with localised filtration on-device: air must pass through a filter before contaminants can be removed. Localised filtration has an important role to play, but the next generation of indoor-air-quality solutions must be more active, more rapid, more sustainable and more adaptable to real-world environments.” said Innova cofounder and CTO Professor Yi Qin.
Testing
The award follows biovalidation testing conducted between July 2024 and March 2025 at the laboratory of NHS Health Innovation NWC at the Feedwater site.
The challenge organism was Micrococcus luteus. It was selected for its hardiness, UV tolerance and tendency to form airborne clusters. These characteristics most accurately reflect real bioaerosols.
Biovalidation testing found that ten minutes of operation with water achieve 93% absolute clearance of typical indoor bacterial load levels in a room. Against a bacterial load several hundred times higher, operation with 50ppm hypochlorous acid achieved 98% clearance in ten minutes. This method reached 99.5% in 30 minutes.
Applications
Innova’s Nanojet platform technology has potential applications across hospitals and healthcare facilities, as well as other public facilities where indoor air quality, environmental hygiene and operational sustainability are important.
Over the next two years, Innova Nanojet plans to expand its product portfolio and distribute across healthcare, education, commercial buildings and residential markets.
