WHEB Ventures invests in UK smart grid company PassivSystems

6 January 2010

European clean technology-focused venture capital firm WHEB Ventures has invested in home energy efficiency company, PassivSystems.

PassivSystems, which produces smart grid system monitors to optimise energy consumption, says it will use this first round of external finance to establish a major commercial partnership and launch its first commercial product.

James McNaught-Davis, managing partner at WHEB Ventures said, ‘We are delighted to be making our first investment in smart grid technology, the market for which is estimated to be worth €30bn (£27bn) over the next five years. PassivSystems has a unique offering which will form a critical part of the smart grid infrastructure and help householders to save money and cut carbon emissions.’

Using an adaptive occupancy control function to optimise energy use, the PassivEnergy system is based around the company’s central home energy management system, which communicates wirelessly to internal and external temperature sensors and appliance controls installed around the home and via the internet. The control function learns when the householder uses energy and when it can be saved, and controls energy consumption across multiple devices in the home.

Colin Calder, founder and CEO of PassivSystems, said, ‘PassivEnergy will revolutionise how consumers manage energy in the home. We are confident that our ground breaking product will save the consumer up to 28 per cent on their energy bills and make their homes more comfortable.’

It is estimated that in the UK, 60 per cent of the energy used in the home is for space and water heating and as much as eight per cent for electrical appliances on standby.

Established in 2008 and headquartered in the UK, PassivSystems’ PassivEnergy Home Energy Management System, designed to reduce wasted energy, is due to be launched in early 2010.

With offices in London and Munich, WHEB Ventures says it invests in cleantech companies with high growth potential, from initial product commercialisation and revenues, through to promising carve outs from large corporates. It manages two cleantech specialist venture capital funds with total commitments to date of £114m. The firm recently partnered with UK-based private equity firm Next Wave Ventures to acquire Pertainer UK Holdings, known for their reusable polyethylene terephalate (PET) bottles, from Rexam for £16m.

Copyright © 2010 NewNet

Tags: smart grid

This story was published on Wednesday, January 6th, 2010 at 12:05 pm and is filed under Europe, deals, energy efficiency. You can follow any responses to article entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Leave a Reply