Sofinnova Partners, Gimv and Amundi Private Equity Funds Invest in McPhy Energy
–
Sofinnova Partners, acting as a leading investor, Gimv and Amundi Private
Equity Funds announced today their investment in McPhy Energy, together with
the historic investors in a second round of funding worth
funds will be used towards the global expansion of McPhy Energy and the
further industrialisation and commercialisation of its products.
McPhy Energy is an innovative French company founded in
the mission to industrialise and commercialise a new technology for the solid
storage of hydrogen in the form of magnesium hydride. The company has
developed an alternative solution for the on-site production of hydrogen for
the industry sector and for the renewable energy sector a concrete solution
to solve the issue of energy storage.
Following a
Emertec and Areva, the firm established its production line and created a
reservoir of magnesium hydride that was delivered to CEA-Liten in
for testing on an industrial scale. The company is now developing a second
large-capacity reservoir that will become operational during the second half
of 2010.
The second round of funds will allow the start-up to scale quickly, from
both an industrial and commercial development point of view, by reinforcing
its commercial and technical team and investing in additional production
equipment. Already present in
open offices in
“Through our innovative and very promising technology, McPhy Energy
offers a new perspective on technical, ecological and economical solutions in
the areas of industrial hydrogen distribution and energy storage,” explains
Pascal Mauberger, CEO of McPhy Energy. “We are proud that such experienced
investors share our enthusiasm for McPhy Energy’s advanced technology and
will accompany us in further developing critical alternatives in these two
fields,” he added.
“Following past investments in DNP Green, Revolt Technology and Neosens,
this latest investment in McPhy Energy is proof of Sofinnova Partners’
continued interest in the Cleantech sector,” says
at Sofinnova Partners. “McPhy Energy exemplifies what we actively seek in a
start-up: an innovative technology that solves an unanswered issue in a
growing international market and, above all, a high-quality managerial team
which has already successfully proven itself and demonstrated its
entrepreneurial spirit.”
“Over the past two years, McPhy Energy has finalised its unique hydrogen
storage technology. It is now ready to enter several promising market
segments. We are convinced that solid state hydrogen storage will be one of
the winning solutions to address the growing need for green and large-scale
energy storage,” says
our first Cleantech deal in
venture capital transactions in the past twelve months.”
“McPhy Energy represents a great opportunity to continue the development
of our activity and expertise in the Cleantech sector,” explains
Thomann
technology, an advanced industrial product on the brink of market launch,
combined with an experienced and complementary management team and a huge
market potential convinced us to accompany McPhy. Its unique product offering
will enable McPhy not only to make industrial hydrogen use easy, but to solve
one of today’s major problems : the storage of energy,” he added.
Clipperton Finance acted as Sole Manager of the transaction. “We are very
proud to have been able to advise the company and its management through this
critical phase of McPhy’s development, and very confident that the company’s
syndicate of experienced investors will be instrumental for its success,”
commented
Finance in charge of the operation.
About McPhy Energy
McPhy Energy is a young French innovative company created in 2008, with
the mission to industrialize and commercialize an innovative solid-state
hydrogen storage technology using magnesium hybrid, that offers unique
advantages compared to other hydrogen storage solutions. The technology
addresses the merchant hydrogen and renewable energy markets. McPhy owns
exclusive rights on a portfolio of unique patents, which results from over 8
years of research at the CNRS and CEA, in partnership with Joseph Fourier
University. Member of the TENERRDIS cluster, McPhy Energy is involved as a
partner or a subcontractor in several research projects.
For further information: http://www.mcphy.com
About Sofinnova Partners
Sofinnova Partners is an independent venture capital firm based in
France
different stages of development – pure creations, spin-offs, as well as
turnaround situations – and worked alongside
the technology, life sciences and cleantech sectors. With
funds under management, Sofinnova Partners’ experienced team and hands-on
approach in building portfolio companies through to exit have created market
leaders, from landmark historical investments including Genentech, Actelion
and Vistaprint to more recent successes such as CoreValve, Novexel, Fovea and
Sensitive Object. With a global mindset, the firm has a sister organization
in
Please visit http://www.sofinnova.fr for more information on Sofinnova’s
team and portfolio.
About Gimv
Gimv is a European investment company with 30 years of experience in
private equity and venture capital. The company is listed on NYSE Euronext
Brussels and currently manages around
third party funds).
Gimv undertakes buyouts and provides growth capital to established
companies. Local teams in
concentrate on these activities. Gimv-XL provides growth financing to larger
growth companies in Flanders. Gimv makes venture capital investments in high
tech sectors through its specialist teams in Life Sciences, Technology and
Cleantech.
Its DG Infra+ fund also focuses on infrastructure projects in the
Benelux. Gimv is also active in Central and
funds and joint ventures.
For more information about Gimv, please visit our website:
http://www.gimv.com.
About Amundi
Amundi ranks third in
asset management(2) with around
Located at the heart of the main investment regions in more than 30
countries, Amundi offers a comprehensive range of products covering all asset
classes and major currencies.
Amundi develops savings solutions to meet the needs of more than 100
million retail customers worldwide and designs innovative, high-performing
products for institutional clients which are tailored specifically to their
requirements and risk profile. Benefiting from the support of two powerful
banking groups, Credit Agricole and Societe Generale, Amundi aims to
establish itself as the undisputed leader in asset management in
recognised for:
- the quality of its products, their financial performance and
transparency
- its close relations with customers, partner networks and
institutions
- the efficiency of its organisation, resulting from the
individual and collective talents of its teams
- a commitment to integrate sustainability and social purpose
criteria into its investment policies, going beyond financial criteria
alone.
(1). IPE Top 400 survey published July 2009, data at 31 December 2008
(2). GI 100 ranking published September 2008, data at June 2008
(3). Amundi Group figures as at 31 March 2010
http://www.amundi.com
About Clipperton Finance
Based in
finance boutique dedicated to the High Tech and Media industries. Clipperton
is focused on high-growth companies in the Internet, Software, Telecom,
Components, Clean Tech, MedTech and Media spaces, advising them in their
financial transactions: fundraising/capital increases and Mergers &
Acquisitions.
Over the past years the company and its team have successfully structured
numerous high level international transactions in the European High Tech
sector.
For more information, visit: http://www.clipperton.net
Media contacts:
Sofinnova Partners Gimv
Georgina Marriott Frank De Leenheer
Tel: +44-(0)7702-616-027 Tel: +32-3-290-22-18
georgina@balloupr.com frank.deleenheer@gimv.com
McPhy Energy Amundi
Christine Duchene Sonia Kobiela
Tel: +33-1-48-75-47-97 / Tel: +33-1-43-23-79-56
+33-6-73-82-52-00 sonia.kobiela@amundi.com
duchene.rp@free.fr
SOURCE McPhy Energy S.A.
