Malcolm Gorst, the CEO of Crystal-Technica positively glows with excitement. In his hand is an unremarkable looking rod, gun metal in color, slightly smaller than a quarter dollar. It tapers to one end. It looks quite heavy for its size, but is in fact surprisingly light. "Look at this" he enthuses "no one else in the world can make one of these! No one! If that isn't worth getting excited about, I don't know what is."

The rod, reminiscent of a tiny Apollo rocket with all its stages, is in fact a Crystal-Technica Mini-lite™ igniter. These little igniters are set to revolutionise the world of the cooktop burner. They are a technologically advanced alternative to spark ignition, being silent in operation and emitting no EMC. So how did Crystal-Technica get into the enviable position of being able to market this revolutionary product?

The story doesn't begin with Hot Surface Igniters at all. In the mid 1990s, the Canadian government funded a project to develop an Advanced Ceramic glow plug for diesel engines. Although expensive, ceramic glow plugs have major advantages over the standard metal glow plugs commonly used. They reach ignition temperature almost instantaneously, eliminating the delay in waiting for the glow plug to warm up. They are also far quieter in operation, significantly reducing engine noise. These attributes have led to them now being routinely used by luxury automobile manufacturers.

When the project ended, the research was continued by Le Mark in China with commercial funding. China was the obvious locality for this research for two reasons. The first was purely economic. The second was that there is a high concentration of expertise in advanced ceramics in the area. Shanghai is home to the Institute of Ceramics, part of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The product continued to be developed by a small team of experts for the next five years. International leading authorities in the Ceramics field worked on the project, using expertise gained whilst developing the Chinese Space Program. Gorst explains why the development took so long. "Working with Advanced Ceramic materials takes a long time. It's really a question of hitting on the right mix of additives, environments and processes. All of the variables have to be explored, so you keep making batches to test out every combination until you find the one that works best. That could take a week, or it could take ten years, there's no way to tell. You can make a batch, everything goes well, you think you've cracked it, and then a problem can show up at the very end of the testing cycle. It's frustrating, but there's no other way to do it. The Le Mark team knew the theory was sound, but empirical testing is the only way to come up with the finished product. But what a fantastic product they have come up with!"

The Le Mark team only worked with Silicon Nitride, because they knew it had all the attributes needed to make a revolutionary product. Once they had perfected the diesel glow plug, they turned their attention to producing a Hot Surface Igniter, using the same technology. Glow Plugs and Hot Surface Igniters are fundamentally different in their usage. Whereas a Glow Plug heats the chamber within a diesel engine, a Hot Surface Igniter lights gas. Furthermore, a Glow Plug operates at a fairly constant voltage supplied by the vehicle's battery, usually 12 volts. A Hot Surface Igniter working off line voltage has to cope with fluctuations in the power supply and must be designed accordingly.

At that point, Crystal-Technica got involved with Le Mark. Having manufactured Silicon Carbide igniters, they were all too aware of the shortcomings of the current technology. "I knew there had to be something better," Gorst says. "And when I found it I was blown away by the potential. This stuff is incredibly durable. I mean forget about Silicon Carbide. The same rules just don't apply. You don't have to handle these
igniters with kid gloves. Think about it - they use this material in the engines of the space shuttle. We had been through so many configurations of Advanced Ceramics, only to find them not suitable for some reason. This product is perfect. It's durable, it ignites the gas faster, it draws less power and it's affordable."

Crystal-Technica supplied the Le Mark team with designs for Hot Surface Igniters. The company's expertise in the field of Hot Surface Ignition meant that they knew exactly the specifications the igniter had to meet. The Le Mark team set to work adapting their technology to what was a completely changed specification.

The partnership between Crystal-Technica and the Le Mark team has allowed both to develop whilst working towards the same goals. Both teams are ambitious, and are they are of like size. The product is clearly spectacular, and Crystal-Technica has a comprehensive strategy to make it a success. The accumulated expertise on both sides ensures a high quality outcome.
Crystal-Technica was set in 2001 with the aim of finding better solutions for Hot Surface Ignition. Gorst and his team have an incredibly through understanding of the technology, and an exciting vision of what it could mean for the future. And not just for ignition systems, this technology is also being used as a heat source in its own right.

The range doesn't stop at the Mini-lite™ either. The partnership has developed a product range that services all Hot Surface Igniter applications. There are igniters for boilers, furnaces, water heaters and ovens, as well as low voltage versions suitable for the RV market.

So has no one else used Silicon Nitride igniters? "There are some available, but to be honest with you, I just don't think the will is there to move on with the technology. The big boys are making plenty of money, because there is no alternative to using their product. Well now there is an alternative. And it is certainly generating a lot of interest - we are dealing with companies all over the world who are as excited as we are about this. Also, there is a high cost of entry into this market. Our manufacturing method has cost millions of dollars to develop as all the equipment has been specially designed and built. Using world class experts obviously costs money. Why should companies develop that when they are selling millions of units by changing nothing at all?"

Gorst insists that direct comparisons with Silicon Carbide are pointless. "The only thing they share is the word "Silicon", nothing else", he exclaims, almost thumping the table in exasperation. "This is a brand new technology, not Silicon Carbide. This material has none of its characteristics. You aren't comparing like with like. They are made in a different way; they operate in a different way. It's a bit like comparing one of those mad flying contraptions powered by pedals with a jet aircraft. They'll both get you off the ground, but which would you rather cross the Atlantic in?"