Park Vale Capital has committed to invest GBP16 million in clean cold and power technology company Dearman, bringing total funds raised by the firm during 2015 to GBP19.5 million (excluding grant funding).
The funding will enable Dearman to establish initial UK-based manufacturing activity, and to boost international commercial deployment, while continuing to invest in R&D and demonstration of its core technology and subsequent applications.
Park Vale will work in partnership with Dearman, helping it to establish new markets for its technology, identify opportunities for growth and realise them.
Discussing the announcement, Katherine Priestley, Managing Director of Park Vale, says: “Dearman is an extremely exciting company that is developing unique technology to address a clear global need – clean cold. Although the applications of Dearman technology will bring demonstrable environmental benefits, it is the fact that they are also commercially attractive and even operationally superior that makes the company so promising. We look forward to working closely with the Dearman team to help maximise the impact of their innovation and the value we can create together.”
Toby Peters, Chief Executive of Dearman, says: “To have partnership of this scale, from a company as respected as Park Vale, is a recognition of the potential of our technology, the quality of our team and the rapid progress we have made to date. We have a vision to utilise innovative clean cold and power technology to address global environmental challenges, while delivering economic returns for our shareholders and growth in the communities where we operate. With the support of all our investors I am confident that we can achieve and even exceed that goal.”
The latest round of investment includes continued backing from a broad range of investors, notably including Transmark NV, who have provided substantial investment to date and continue to be actively involved in the future of the business.
Dearman is developing a broad portfolio of clean cold and power technologies, all of which harness the unique attributes of the liquid air-powered Dearman engine.
The first application of Dearman technology is a zero-emission transport refrigeration unit, which offers a commercially attractive and operationally superior alternative to the polluting diesel powered units that keep refrigerated cargo cool on the road today. There is a substantial and rapidly growing addressable market for this technology and Dearman aims to achieve significant penetration in a number of countries, enabling it to maximise both the environmental and economic impact of its technology.
Commercial trials of the Dearman zero-emission transport refrigeration system are due to begin in early 2016, with further international trials to follow later in the year.
Subsequent applications of Dearman technology, already under development, include an auxiliary cold and power unit for buses and HGVs, a back up cold and power system for the built environment, and a waste-heat hybrid drive system for trucks and buses.
The company has grown to employ over 60 people at two sites, including the new Dearman Clean Cold and Power Technology Centre, which is home to its R&D and engineering activities and was opened earlier this year by Jo Johnson, Minister for Universities and Science.
Dearman’s corporate finance advisers, Turquoise International, initiated and advised on the development of the partnership with Park Vale, as part of their work on the company’s long-term funding plan. Turquoise specialises in finance for energy and environment.
