he non-stick saucepan is the most famous spin-off from space science, but the brains behind the European Space Agency’s Business Incubation Centre at Harwell are hoping for many more.

The centre’s first tenant, aptly named The Electrospinning Company, is hoping to commercialise the use of a miniature silicon nozzle which was originally developed by physicist Bob Stevens of the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory to manipulate tiny particles in outer space.

The nozzle is used for a process called ‘electrospinning’, using high voltages to produce space-age materials made of extremely thin plastic fibres, each 100 times thinner than a human hair.

Eventually, the company hopes surgeons will use the material to repair diseased or damaged organs, and it is already being used in the lab by medical researchers.

The nozzle’s electrical charge means the 'nanofibres' bind together, making a non-woven material that acts as a scaffold for cell growth.

The company’s chief executive, Paul Neilson, said: “Most human cells like to grow on that non-woven mat, and it creates a very similar environment to the cell’s natural environment in the human body.

“The cells attach to our fibres and grow in the fibres to create a 3D piece of tissue to repair damage.”

The Electrospinning Company is already selling its material to biotech researchers developing new stem-cell therapies to repair or replace damaged organs in the body.

Stem cells — master cells that can morph into any cell of the body — have the potential to produce new insulin-producing cells for diabetics, replacement cells for Parkinson’s patients or maybe even Alzheimer’s, or new nerve connections to restore movement after spinal injury.

Researchers can culture them on the electrospun mat of fibres for use as medical implants.

Mr Neilson said Britain was a world-leader in stem-cell research, partly because of the reverse brain drain of US scientists after George Bush’s funding moratorium on embryo stem-cell science, now reversed by Barak Obama.

“There are two big challenges in stem-cell research. The first is that billions of cells are needed to treat one patient. Our material means fewer cells are needed because you can keep all the cells next to the organ that you are trying to treat.

“The second problem is that stem cells should not be allowed to go into parts of the body where they are not needed because of the risk of tumours. Our material keeps them in one place.”

The company is already working with researchers who are seeking a cure for blindness, and another group developing peripheral nerve repair techniques.

The silicon nozzle used in the manufacturing process was originally developed as part of the Government’s Microsystems In Space Programme. One of Dr Stevens’s team, polymer chemist Rob McKean, is the company's second employee — head of research and development.

As a tenant of the new centre, The Electrospinning Company will benefit from up to £42,500 of European funding to patent its technology. It was set up three years ago with £100,000 from a Government Technology Seed Fund. Having developed a list of 75 potential customers and numerous industry collaborations, it secured £250,000 from the Oxford Investment Opportunity Network and London Business Angels, and already has a small revenue stream from its research collaborators.

Mr Neilson said: “We will get short-term revenue from the sales of fibres for 3D culture — we made our first sale last July so we have developed, launched and sold products in our first six months.

“We are now launching our third product, which is, we believe, the world’s only commercially available aligned nano-fibre product for cell culture. The next aim is to develop a medical implant device, which would require clinical trials. "We are hoping to reach cash break-even next year from our short to medium-term activity,” Mr Neilson added.

The Government has high hopes that space research at Harwell will create jobs by enabling pioneering companies to translate space technologies and applications into viable and profitable businesses in non-space industries. Annual turnover in the space industry is about £7.5bn, with employment rising at about 15 per cent a year.

The European centre joins the International Space Innovation Centre, launched earlier this month by Prince Andrew, which has space for up to ten start-up businesses at Harwell.

Welcoming the ESA centre’s first tenant, Paul Vernon, of the Government’s Science and Technology Facilities Council, said the space sector could bring “huge social and economic benefits to the UK economy”.

Mr Neilson said the ESA centre would provide financial, technical and business support as well as links to innovation networks.