Paris, the 21st of January 2013 - The Ecotechnologies fund, managed by CDC Entreprises on behalf of the state within the framework of the actions of the Program of Investments for the Future (PIA) entrusted to the Ademe, carries out its second investment in the company McPhy Energy. This 5M€ equity investment aims at supporting the commercial development of the company following the acquisition of an electrolysis equipments production unit. This investment is part of a 10M€ capital increase completed by the company’s historical investors: Emertec Gestion, Sofinnova Partners, Gimv, Arevadelfi and Clipperton Finance.
Located at La Motte Fanjas (26) and Grenoble (38), McPhy Energy was created in 2008 by Daniel Fruchart and Michel Jehan to develop and bring to industrial scale a solid-state hydrogen storage solution based on metal hydrides, which represents a major technological breakthrough stemming from the CNRS research work. Following Pascal Mauberger’s nomination as CEO in 2009, bringing 25 years of large scale industrial units management (including within Air Liquide and Soitec), the proof of concept was finalized and the company entered into a period of industrial ramp-up and commercial development. Clients are industrial players using hydrogen and energy companies, hydrogen being used as a mean for energy storage.
At the technological level, the hydrogen storage solution brought by McPhy Energy is a disruptive discovery compared with the conventional hydrogen storage solutions (high pressure gaseous storage or liquefied storage at extremely low temperature), with significant advantages such as an improved security thanks to low pressure storage, a lower energy consumption and a greater ease of use.
The management team strategy allowed McPhy Energy to find the right position for its products; first commercial deliveries have already been achieved to leading industrial and energy players as well as universities such as Enel, Iwatani, Eon and Nottingham University. Furthermore, several projects have been signed with key actors of the energy transition and the industry such as Enel, GDF-Suez, Enertrag, Total, Linde. Besides, McPhy Energy recently created subsidiaries in Germany and in Italy.
Pascal Mauberger, President of the Supervisory Board commented on the capital increase: « We are extremely satisfied with the arrival of the Ecotechnologies Fund in McPhy’s capital, which will provide a strong boost to the company’s growth. We aim at accelerating the commercial launch of our innovative solution for hydrogen storage, while promoting a combined offer including the onsite installation of hydrogen production units (based on water electrolysis). Acquiring the electrolysis production unit naturally leads to this combined offer strategy and required a significant capital increase. »
Anne-Sophie Carrese, Investment Director at CDC Entreprises further commented of the transaction : « This solution answers a key challenge of the energy transition: how to store energy with enough flexibility to integrate further the different renewable energy production sources. We clearly see McPhy Energy as one the leading start-up companies in the field of energy storage. The investment carried out by the Ecotechnologies Fund provides an answer to a specific challenge identified in the clean technology space: in spite of a growing need for innovation, many small and medium enterprises are unable to finance their growth and raise capital for their development, specifically when they reach industrial and commercial stages. This operation highlights how CDC Entreprises direct and indirect interventions complete one another as some of the co-investors in this operation belongs to our network».
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http://www.cdcentreprises.fr/portefeuille/fiche/fonds_directs/F369/fcpr_ecotechnologies.php
Endowed with 150M€ within the framework of the implementation of the actions of the Program of Investments for the Future (PIA) entrusted to the Ademe, this fund is managed by CDC Entreprises, a subsidiary of the Caisse des Dépôts. The Ecotechnologies fund invests from 1M€ to 10M€ in co-investments with private players, in the capacity of a well-informed investor. It is targeting equity capital and quasi-equity capital operations, for acquisitions of minority stakes in innovative SMEs primarily established in France, and non-listed.
The sectors in which the fund may invest are defined by the 4 following Investments for the Future programmes managed by the Agence De l’Environnement et de la Maîtrise de l’Energie (Ademe) : (i) decarbonized renewable energy and green chemistry, (ii) smart grids , (iii) circular economy (waste reclamation, eco-design and industrial ecology), (iv) vehicle of the future. The fund’s specific sectors are further defined in the various requests for proposals (AMI) launched by l’Ademe and accessible on its website.
Based in Drome & Isère, France, McPhy Energy's mission is to industrialize and commercialize an innovative hydrogen storage technology using magnesium hydrides. Offering unique advantages compared with the other hydrogen storage solutions, this technology addresses the industrial hydrogen and renewable energy markets. McPhy Energy owns exclusive rights on a portfolio of patents, which result from over 8 years of research at CNRS, in partnership with Joseph Fourier University (France). A member of the TENERRDIS competitiveness cluster, McPhy Energy is involved as direct partner or subcontractor in several research projects. McPhy Energy is listed in the Global Cleantech 100 and the Top 5 Cleantech France. The company has recently signed numerous contracts in France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and Japan, demonstrating its technological leadership.
