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Date: November 11, 2008
ElectraTherm Raises $2.6M As Warm-Up For $8M More
Waste heat technology company ElectraTherm Inc. recently raised $2.6 million in a Series A round of funding and is looking to close a Series B round of between $5 million and $8 million by early 2009, Clean Technology Insight has learned.
Birmingham, Mich.-based venture capital firm Interlaken LLC led the Series A round two months ago, with friends and family of ElectraTherm executives contributing funding as well, said Chief Financial Officer Stephen Olson in an interview.
ElectraTherm will use the money mostly to roll out its product and also to conduct further research and development on other models, Olson said.
The Carson City, Nev.-based company makes small-scale generators that can produce electricity from waste heat or geothermal heat. Instead of a turbine, ElectraTherm uses twin-screw expander power systems that cost 35% to 50% less than traditional turbo-driven, small-scale power systems, according to the company.
"As we search for renewables to replace a fossil fuel based economy the one thing we shouldn't overlook is efficiencies," Olson said. "It's something where the economics are compelling without government subsidies."
The company's 50 kilowatt product can capture waste heat from various sources, such as standalone engines that drive compression of natural gas or are used on farms. Olson said there are 660,000 stationary engines in North America.
The machines can also be used to capture industrial waste heat and turn it into electricity.
"The machine is really agnostic as to what the source of the heat is," Olson said. "Every major industry produces waste heat - a smelting plant, a bakery - there are endless situations where waste heat is a byproduct."
Olson said the potential market for this machine is in the tens or hundreds of billions of dollars. The 50 KW units sell for $128,000 and the company is currently developing 100 KW and 500 KW units.
ElectraTherm installed its first unit at Southern Methodist University in Texas in June and the company expects to announce other deals in the coming months, Olson said. He also said the company is talking about its product with owners of large commercial buildings in Manhattan, where there are steam-based heating and cooling systems with which this product could be used.
"It's a real low-hanging fruit and they pay a lot for power in Manhattan, so they can put our unit in and the payback [is quick]," Olson said.
Payback on these systems can vary from two years to four or five years or more, he said, depending on various factors.
ElectraTherm recently entered an agreement with Taiwan-based Kaori Heat Treatment Co. to manufacture and distribute the 50 KW product in Taiwan, and Eisenmann Corp., Roughrider Power LLC and Gulf Coast Green Energy to distribute the product in the U.S. market.
http://www.electratherm.com/
URL: (subscription only)
 to ElectraTherm's Newsroom
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