Inetec, investment in food-waste-to-renewable-energy technology

Oxford, UK, 25 June 2007

Oxford Capital Partners, the Oxford based venture capital firm focused on science and technology companies, has announced a follow-on investment in Inetec Limited as part of its continued focus on the sustainability engineering sector. Inetec Limited is a developer of waste-to-renewable-energy projects in the industrial food manufacturing sector. The £2.5m funding round was led by Oxford Capital Partners and included existing investors Finance Wales as well as other new investors.

Inetec uses its proprietary technology to convert industrial food waste into a stable biomass fuel. This biomass fuel can then be converted into gas and combusted in a combined heat and power plant (CHP) to produce heat for industry and renewable electricity for the grid. Each CHP will generate four revenue streams including a gate fee for waste collection, the sale of heat energy to industry, the sale of renewable electricity to the grid and the sale of marketable Renewable Obligation Certificates (ROCs).

The combination of rising landfill costs and increasing legislative pressure to develop sustainable waste disposal methods and renewable energy has created a significant market opportunity for Inetec, whose solutions address both of these challenges.

The funds raised in this round will be used to progress the construction of the UK’s first food waste-to-renewable-energy power station which will be located at Immingham in North East Lincolnshire. The plant will divert up to 180,000 tonnes of waste away from landfill and generate 24MW of green electricity.

David Mott, Director of Oxford Capital Partners, states “Oxford Capital Partners is delighted to continue its support for Inetec. The company has secured its position as the market leader for the treatment of industrial food waste, working with some of the largest companies in the food industry. The facility at Immingham will be the first in a network of plants to be built across the UK.”

According to Phil Nicholas, Chief Executive Officer of Inetec, “We are very happy that a favourable planning decision was reached by the North East Lincolnshire Council in relation to the first EnCycle plant. This represents a significant milestone in Inetec’s ambitious programme to develop ten of these plants around the UK in the next five years. Without the continued support of Oxford Capital Partners we would not have been able to reach this stage and we are delighted that this round of funding is now complete, allowing us to focus on delivering the first of these projects”

Information for editors

Please contact:
Joanne Telford
Oxford Capital Partners
Tel: 01865 860 760
jtelford@oxcp.com
www.oxcp.com

About Oxford Capital Partners

Oxford Capital Partners is a science and technology venture capital firm with extensive experience in investing in and supporting businesses with high growth potential. Oxford Capital Partners looks for the best opportunities, backing exceptional entrepreneurs and investing across all stages of development, from start-up to IPO. Leveraging its extensive networks, Oxford Capital Partners assists portfolio companies in accessing international markets in Europe, the US, Middle East and Asia. Oxford Capital Partners is the manager of four Oxford Gateway Funds and oversees a portfolio of over 25 companies in a range of technology sectors, including ICT, clean technologies, life and physical sciences.

Oxford Capital Partners was named Venture Capital House of the Year 2005 at the Unquote Awards.

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