RWE Innogy invests venture capital in two Scandinavian biomass technology companies

As part of its venture capital activities, RWE Innogy is acquiring a minority share in Stirling DK ApS, a Danish manufacturer of distributed cogeneration systems which – based on a Stirling engine – can for the first time be fueled by solid biomass for en

"With our commitment, we intend to take promising technologies enabling carbon-neutral energy generation to the production stage so as to make them fit for commercial deployment," explained Crispin Leick, Head of RWE Innogy's Venture Division. "We set great store by a diversified portfolio covering the whole range of renewable energies. With our six venture capital investments in innovative European companies, we have already been very successful. As corporate venture capital investor, we are a reliable partner in the current market environment for young innovative companies seeking equity capital to develop and launch their technologies in the market."

Stirling DK has developed a distributed CHP system to generate energy from solid biomass of low value. For instance, fresh wood chips from forests can be used as renewable fuel. The plant engineering is based on a Stirling engine with an electrical output of 35 kW, supplied with heat from an external combustion chamber. A heat exchanger specifically designed for the combustion of solid biomass is used for this purpose. Costly fuel processing or fossil fuels of high quality, such as natural gas, are not required. First systems have already been successfully installed in Germany. Present customers include e.g. a municipal utility and a hospital. Together with RWE Innogy, existing investors like Vaekstfonden, a leading Danish technology investor, are investing in the promising technology.

The innovative measuring equipment developed by Mantex AB permits fast, precise and continuous measurement of the moisture and ash concentration of biomass. The high measuring accuracy of the automated process is currently achieved only by expensive manual methods. Key applications for the new measuring process are the fast and accurate accounting of biomass and efficiency improvements in biomass-fuelled power plants by knowing the moisture and ash concentration and hence the quality of the fuel.

Last year, RWE Innogy had already acquired shares in Quiet Revolution Ltd., a British developer of micro wind turbines, and the Dutch company Topell BV, which is developing an innovative process to produce biocoal pellets. Early in 2009, the company invested in innovative battery technologies of Revolt Technology AS and created the company Voith Hydro Ocean Current Technologies GmbH & Co KG together with Voith Hydro in the area of marine current technology.

Being a driver for innovative technologies, the company intends to continue growing its venture capital portfolio in the future. Investments in the triple-digit millions are planned for the years ahead. Support will be given to promising companies which have developed a technology in the area of renewable energies that allows resource-conserving and carbon-neutral energy generation.