Green Building Blocks: Arxx Corporation (Portland, Oregon - USA)

Arxx Corporation, a leader in energy-efficient building products, raised $16 million (Cdn) in a Series-B financing that was co-led by Emerald Technology Ventures and Nth Power. Also participating in the round was existing investor Element Partners. Arxx was recently created through the merger of Ontario-based Arxx Building Products Inc. and Apex Construction Systems Inc. of Oregon, positioning the new company as a global leader in the green-building materials market. The merger is a response to rising demand for sustainable, eco-friendly building materials. Specifically, Arxx has a broad suite of energy-efficient structural wall systems and related products that promote sustainable building practices and reduce the carbon footprint of residential and commercial buildings. These include its energy-efficient Insulated Concrete Form (ICF) products, branded ArxxBlock, and its innovative recycled ICF block technology, ApexBlock.

Both ArxxBlock and ApexBlock walls are made of expanded polystyrene, concrete and reinforcing steel bars. Building-owners benefit from high-grade thermal and acoustic insulation, leading to substantial energy savings compared with traditional building techniques. The high-strength walls are also resistant to pests and mould. In addition, builders benefit from a substantially shorter overall construction time. As part of this recent Series-B financing, Luc Charron of Emerald Technology Ventures has joined the Arxx Board of Directors.
Visit: www.arxx.net

Direct Drive: Emergya Wind Technologies N.V. (Schiphol - NL)

The global wind industry continues to enjoy rapid growth. In 2007 - and for the first time - there was more new wind capacity installed in Europe than combined-cycle natural gas fired plants, according to the Global Wind Energy Council. Meanwhile, coal and nuclear are both in decline. The lead markets for wind deployment in 2007 were the U.S., Spain, China, India, Germany and France. Sweden and Holland were proclaimed third-wave European markets, while the U.K. and Denmark led the race for offshore wind. Overall, the wind energy council projects cumulative capacity of 250,000 MW by 2012, up from 95,000 MW at the end of 2007.

With the investment opportunity clear, Emerald kicked off the year by leading a round to acquire a stake in Emergya Wind Technologies Holdings N.V., a Dutch-based manufacturer and supplier of wind turbines and turnkey wind parks. Emergya, founded in 2004, specializes in the development of advanced gearless or "direct drive" wind turbines. These turbines overcome many of the limitations of turbines that rely on conventional rotor-gearbox-generator drive trains, which are in short supply, require long lead times, and as a result have become more expensive. Some of these conventional turbines are also experiencing mid-life failure of "for life" components, leading to costly replacement. Emergya's direct-drive turbines have significantly fewer components, and are proving to be a reliable, durable and highly efficient alternative to rival systems. They're also less noisy than the competition.
Visit: www.directwind.nl

Anaerobic Workout: Schmack Biogas AG (Schwandorf - Germany)

Governments around the world, spurred on by growing public concern over climate change, have launched ambitious plans to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions caused by human activity. Action has generally been focused on two areas: the more efficient use of existing energy sources, and the development of renewable energy sources that can reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. Higher prices for fossil fuels and regulation that supports the deployment and use of renewable energy are together proving to be powerful drivers for a sustainable energy economy. Playing a significant role in this new economy is biogas, and one of the largest enablers of this renewable source of energy is Germany's Schmack Biogas AG.

Biogas is a methane-rich gas produced naturally when micro-organisms break down organic matter under anaerobic conditions - that is, in the absence of oxygen. Schmack Biogas is a top supplier of anaerobic digester systems that convert organic matter into biogas. Farmers have traditionally purchased smaller systems to produce biogas from mainly livestock waste. Increasingly, however, investors and utilities are seeing the potential and becoming owners of larger-scale biogas plants using a variety of feedstock including agricultural solid residues. It's why Emerald Technology Ventures participated as a sole investor in a EUR 7.1 million PIPE transaction, proudly supporting Schmack Biogas in its next phase of growth.

There are a number of benefits to using biogas. It's considered renewable because under sustainable practices the biomass and other organic matter used to produce it end up growing back. It's also recognized as carbon neutral, since any CO2 released during combustion is reabsorbed by new growth. And as a fuel it's highly flexible. Biogas can be used for decentralized combined heat and power production, as a boiler or cooking fuel in homes, and even as a transportation fuel for cars. It can also be injected into the same pipelines that carry its fossil-fuel cousin, natural gas. Finally, biogas is more reliable than intermittent renewable energy sources such as wind and solar. It can be stored and dispatched when needed. Similarly, the agricultural residues, manure and other biomass used as a feedstock in biogas production can be stockpiled and called upon when needed.

Schmack Biogas provides a full suite of complementary services and is one of the few full-service providers in the industry. The company, founded in 1995 and currently employing more than 400 people, has formed various marketing joint ventures and acquired equity positions in several component suppliers to better serve its customer base. To date it has built over 200 plants with a combined nominal output of roughly 75 megawatts.

Emerald was a pre-IPO investor in the company and participated in the last pre-IPO financing round in May 2005. Emerald sold all its shares to institutional investors in a secondary transaction and capital increase in February 2007.
Visit: www.schmack-biogas.com

Gas Detective: Senscient Inc. (League City, Texas - USA)

Safety and environmental protection are paramount in industries that handle or risk exposure to inflammable and toxic gases. Mining, oil and gas exploration, industrial processes, environmental monitoring, medical research, aerospace, and national defense are just a few of the areas that demand the ability to detect the presence and quantity of such gases, both reliably and accurately. This is where Senscient Inc. enters the picture. The US based company, founded just four years ago, develops, manufactures, and markets advanced gas-detection products for industrial safety, environmental monitoring and process analysis. Emerald Technology Ventures and Yellowstone Capital Partners co-led a $5.6 million (U.S.) Series-B financing round earlier this year to support the development and marketing of Senscient's enhanced laser-diode spectroscopy technology, or ELDS.

Senscient's ELDS technology has allowed it to develop highly sensitive sensors that can detect trace amounts of both toxic and flammable gases along an open path, all from a single unit. Solid-state laser diodes, similar to those found in demanding telecommunications applications, create a beam up to 200 meters long. As potentially hazardous gases, such as ammonia or hydrogen sulfide, pass through the beam the sensor is alerted to absorption changes along the path. Proprietary techniques are used to enhance the ability of the technology to detect small changes while assuring "extremely low" occurrences of false alarms. Furthermore, testing of the detectors can be performed remotely, and installation and maintenance costs are significantly lower than other options on the market.

Senscient's development, engineering and production operations are based in Poole, U.K., and its sales and marketing is done out of Houston, Texas. The company is in the process of certifying its first detection units with Factory Mutual and will start a number of trials at refinery and chemical plants later this year. It has also received its first orders and established a strong network of distributors. In connection with the Series-B financing, Charles Vaslet and Luc Charron of Emerald Technology Ventures have joined Senscient's Board of Directors.
Visit: www.senscient.com

Emerald Technology Ventures is pleased to announce the seventh annual European Energy Venture Fair (EEVF) will be held September 22nd to 23rd, 2008 at the Swiss Re Center for Global Dialogue in Zurich/ Rüschlikon. This "by invitation only" event is designed to strengthen relationships and facilitate discussions amongst the leading energy and cleantech investors in Europe. The conference also provides investors the opportunity to meet a select group of up-and-coming cleantech companies looking for financing. The 2007 conference was an enormous success attended by over 100 investors, representing 70 independent fund and corporate venture capital investors. For more information on EEVF 2008 please visit www.europeanenergyventurefair.com EEVF Initiating Partner